Shield for the Superhuman
by SecretReading
Summary: When a virus wipes out 57% of the country, causing any surviving children to gain superhuman powers, Steve, living alone in the Avengers Tower, begins takes them in. But there are people out there after these unusual kids that will do anything to capture them and use them for their own sick benefit. He knows what he's doing is dangerous, but Steve will protect them at all costs.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is just testing out an idea that popped into my head, I wrote it up in one afternoon, so it might have a few errors. Please let me know if you liked it, like the idea of it, want to see how the story will go, any suggestions , all that jazz. Please don't forget to review!**

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Steve sighed after jumping at another stray cat that swiped at him from behind a dumpster. Sure, a morning jog through a ruined city filled with homeless, starving and decidedly violent people wasn't the smartest thing in the world, but the super soldier needed to get his mind off of things some days. The downfall of the nation he had known and loved was a lot to think about some days. It wasn't because of war, terrorists, a meteor, no; the death of 57% of the country's population wasn't because of any of that. It was a virus.

Ashepolesis Mortem is what they called it when it killed off the majority of a small town. Everybody started calling it Ash when it took out Chicago. It only spread from there. South America managed to ward off the disease for about a year, before it spread to their citizens. Canada is on constant watch, not allowing anybody over the border for fear of the virus spreading to their country. Nobody quite knew where it started, or when it will end, only that once an adult contracted Ash they had a 62% chance of dying. If a child contracted it (That usually including anybody under 25 because they're body and brain aren't fully developed yet) they're chances of survival dropped drastically, with an 83% chance of fatality. The good thing is, once you've survived, you're basically immune.

The children suffered the most. The process of suffering for them was almost twice as long as that of an adult, who suffered for only two weeks before they either recovered or died. A child, especially one under the age of 17, suffered for a little under a full month before they most-likely died or miraculously recovered. But it was what happened after recovering that had scared everybody the most. Reports of 8-year-olds uprooting trees or teenagers attacking people without laying a finger on them flooded in, forcing the government to take action.

Steve didn't exactly know why kids could do such things, but he put his trust in Tony's theory that went: "You see, the brain is a complicated thing, and we have yet to unlock so much more of its potential. A person's brain and body isn't fully developed until they're 25 years old, which is probably why the kids are dropping like flies, because they body isn't able to fight off the disease as effectively as an adult can. But you know how adults are immune once they've recovered, well it seems like an underdeveloped brain has to find another way to give the kid's body immunity. So it uses just a little more of the brain, it _uses_ that empty space in the mind, and it seems like that unlocked untold potential within the mind, giving these kids freaking superpowers! It'd be awesome if it wasn't so damn horrible."

The soldier smiled remembering his over-eccentric friend. He was never too badly affected by Ash, recovering from the disease in a matter of days due to the effects of the super soldier serum. It was when Natasha contracted the virus was when the Avengers decided to take up Thor's offer for refuge in Asgard. She survived, thank god, but not without scared the living crap out of everybody on the team first. As far as Steve knew, Tony and Bruce were working on a cure right this very moment.

Steve decided to stay after only a few weeks in Asgard. Don't get him wrong, Asgard was beautiful, and as much as he wished every day to join his friends on there, he couldn't just abandon his country. He couldn't just sit around stuffing himself with Asgardian delicacies while the city he had called home suffered. While his country crumbled before his eyes. So he remained behind.

It was a horrible feeling, to know that you had gotten used to the new world he had awoken in, even beginning to like it, and then everything goes to hell. It was like a whole new world to adjust to again. But he still stayed.

In all truthfulness, he was still figuring out a way to help. The only thing he could do for now was offer out some of the food that Thor delivered for him every week to the people camping in the streets. It made him feel good when he could feed a family of six for the night.

He was very wary of the kids, though. As much as he wanted to help him, as much as he wanted to feed them, Steve knew he couldn't get too close. There was one day, just before dusk settled, Steve was out doing his rounds, offering food to starving strangers that littered the alleyways and street corners, when he came across a gangly looking girl. She was fairly emaciated, looked like she could drop dead any second, and Steve felt an overwhelming sense of pity or her. She didn't even look like she had hit puberty yet, the poor thing.

The soldier had approached carefully, offering a few plastic containers of Asgardian pasta, when she attacked him. He was always wary of being attacked by somebody, the terror in the girl's eyes and the searing burn of his flesh had caught him by surprise. She had shot an enormous ball of fire towards him, burning through his skin and left him gasping on the sidewalk. The girl had then stolen the pasta and his backpack full of food and fled from the scene, leaving burning footprints as she went.

Steve managed to drag himself back to the Avengers tower, where he lived now. The arc reactor running the building kept the security systems, electricity and even Jarvis running. Steve had just barely made it, somehow avoiding the many street gangs that littered the block, and was bedridden for almost two weeks, healing his extensive third-degree burns. It was a good thing Thor turned up few days after he had been hurt with medical supplies and Asgardian medicines, claiming that Heimdall had told him that Steve was suffering from extensive injury and he had come to help. He had stayed with Steve for a few nights, calming him down through his fevers and incoherent screams. So yeah, that was the last time he ever tried to get too close to a kid on the street for a while.

When the sun started to fully rise, Steve made his way back to the tower, wondering if this was the day he'd call Thor and finally take up his offer to stay on Asgard. He sighed when his conscience came knocking, listing, once again, all of the reasons not to go. Jarvis welcomed his as he stepped into the lobby (which was trashed due to a gang breaking in last year) and into the elevator that took him to the common room.

Steve picked up his journal, which he wrote in every day, and scribbled out his usual morning report on what he'd seen going on in the city. A lot of starving people, broken windows, looted stores, even a couple a gang members, which was surprising at such an early hour. He went down to storage to get breakfast, a strange syrupy mix with chunks of alien fruits, that Thor had assured was all edible and very delicious. So Steve sat for about half an hour, slurping down the syrupy goodness, while reading an old newspaper from 2013.

The article he was reading was praising billionaire Tony Stark for his continuous aid in the process of rebuilding Manhatton after the Chitauri attack, and providing aid for victims. It depressed Steve to read articles from Tony's collection of newspapers about himself, to read about how the country used to be. Reading about daily events before Ash struck, reading about how life in New York City used to be. Steve sighed again. He did that a lot lately.

He needed to get out again, despite his morning run, he was restless, and running usually kept his mind off of things. Because it was daylight, Steve strapped his shield onto his back, and because it was winter, he dressed warmly in black tracksuit pants and a royal blue hood. Dark colours kept you from standing out, but he was pretty sure the shield stuck out like a sore thumb. Better safe than sorry, he guessed.

He left the building, shouting a command to Jarvis to lock down the tower and that he would be back in a few hours. Steve exited, passing by a family camping out near the entrance, and made a mental note to give them an extra serving tonight, as they looked particularly skinny. He ran past a pack of looters, rummaging through a small corner shop for scraps. Steve doubted they'd find any, but he wished them luck, regardless.

A few people gasped as he ran past, recognising the shield on his back. He even got chased for a few blocks by a couple a gang members, thank god they didn't have any guns on them. They threw a knife, but he caught it easily and threw it onto the roof of a building and put on a burst of speed to outrun them.

After about two hours of weaving through abandoned cars and tipped over trash cans, Steve slowed down a little. He was entering a quieter part of the city, where there used to be sleek expensive houses and gated neighbourhoods. Now there were rundown mansions and an eerie quiet. This part of town had been looted long ago. The soldier slowed as he neared a rather large looking high school, probably a private school judging by the stone cross crumbling beside the gate. But that wasn't what made him stop.

There was activity inside. There were lights, and trucks moving around inside the grounds, and voices. Not people moaning about hunger or coughing up blood, more like commands over a loud speaker. Steve almost smacked himself when he realised what it was. _A rehabilitation building._ A place where they sent the kids who survived and developed powers. Steve had always been curious as to what went on inside there, had heard whispers on the streets about them. He had been waiting to stumble across one for a little while now, actually.

There was a shot a little to his left, and bullet whizzed past him, singing his hair. Steve brought up his shield instinctively, protecting himself from the unknown sniper. A few more bullets ricochet off of the vibranium, before someone shouted, "Hold your fire!"

Steve peeked over the lip of his shield, and watched as an older man dressed in black with a red stripe over his chest approached.

"Holy shit, is that who I think it is? Is that Captain America?"

Steve almost reeled back, deciding if he should run or stay put. He didn't think these people would attack him again, now that he realised who he was, but he didn't want to take any risks.

Steve pulled his shield back to his side; ready to defend himself quickly if the fired again, and met the man with a handshake.

"I can't believe my eyes! It really is you! We had all thought you guys fled the country or something, but it looks like at least one of you stayed. I'm sergeant Harrison Fennis, it's an honour Captain."

"Steve Rogers, glad to meet a friendly face. Are you the person who runs this place?" The soldier asked, gesturing to the school.

"No, but I can take you to meet him, if you'd like. He wouldn't believe his eyes if he saw you, he's a real fan. It'd also probably get me a promotion, so you'd be helping me out too. What do you say?"

Steve considered the offer. He still wasn't completely sure if he could trust these people to take him into an armed base, where he could be shot or injured, but he was a super soldier, he had handled worse. "Sure, why not."

He followed Harrison through the gate, and watched as he waved off the questioning glances he got from the other adults walking around. The office was fairly close to the entrance, and there was a sign that read 'ALL VISITORS MUST REPORT TO FRONT OFFICE.'

Harrison knocked on a simple wooden door, and gestured for Steve to follow him inside when somebody shouted for them to enter.

"Uh, Sir, I have a surprise for you. I know you don't like surprises, but I promise you you'll love this one."

He stepped aside to reveal a nervous looking Steve, clutching his shield with one hand, and rubbing the other one on the leg of his pants. It was almost funny to see the huge man sitting at the desk decorated with Captain America toys and ornaments, drop his jaw and stare in utter shock at the super soldier.

"T-Thank –you Sergeant, y-you're dismissed." Harrison nodded and left the office, closing the door with a soft click behind him.

The man in front of Steve was fairly average in height, not tall, but not short either. He had a clean shaven face, neatly combed auburn hair, and grey-blue eyes. He was also sporting a suit much like Harrison's, only with a red six pointed star of the left side of his chest.

Steve stepped forward and offered out his hand. "Nice to meet you, sir. Steve Rogers."

The man swallowed before extending a shaky hand out and shaking Steve's. "It's a pleasure, C-Captain Rogers. I'm a big fan."

Steve smiled slightly when he noticed the man in charge casually pluck a few of the Captain America toys off of his desk and place them out of sight.

They chatted for a good twenty minutes, with Steve signing a few posters and collectibles (even though they wouldn't be worth anything in this day and age) and telling of how he had been living throughout the past three years since Ash overtook the nation, he casually mentioned his curiosity of the rehabilitation centres and the man (who he had learned name was Trevor Nelson) offered him a tour of the place, which Steve gladly accepted.

To say it was horrible was an understatement. It was downright disturbing. The kids marched in uniformed lines to either their rooms, or their daily chores, their eyes blank and their faces devoid of any emotion. If Steve didn't know any better, he'd say that they were zombies, completely numb to the world around them, not really caring about anything. It was even worse when they stopped by a daily therapy session, and watched as the kids no older than eight years old listened to soft orchestral music, being lectured on how they weren't any use to the world unless the stopped using their powers, and reformed to a better society. Steve wanted to break down the door and usher them out, but there must've been at least two guards with guns for every child that was on premises, so he decided not to try anything.

Perhaps the most horrifying scene he witnessed was when a person wearing a black mask dressed in the same black suit, only with a red cross emblazed over his chest march in dragging two kids behind him. They were both girls, kicking, screaming and crying, trying to get away. It broke his heart; they must've only been fifteen years old, the both of them. They looked like sisters, actually.

One of them caught sight of Steve, and screamed for help, until guards rushed in and sedated them, then carried the two to a small yellow building out of sight of the other children who happened to be nearby. It physically pained him to stand there, smiling and nodding while Trevor explained proudly that that particular 'Hunter' as he had called the man who dragged the two girls in, was the best they had when it came to capturing kids off of the streets. According to him, it was the sixth capture that week.

By the time Steve had left, giving a watery smile and waving goodbye, he felt physically ill. Sure, the country had gone to hell since Ash struck, but this? This wasn't helping the kids to deal with their powers, or schooling them like he had thought, this was brainwashing them, until they stopped using their powers. And as Trevor had explained, if they stop using their powers for too long, they faded until they were weak and barely a threat anymore. It was sickening.

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He arrived back at the tower after sprinting all the way back to write what had happened during his day, realising he had been out for almost five hours, he mentally cursed himself. He shouldn't leave the tower for too long, it was dangerous. He settled down for a movie from Jarvis's extensive library when he heard a rush of wind on the roof. Despite the horrors he had witnessed today, he smiled. He always looked forward to Thor's visits. Natasha usually accompanied him, because she was immune to the disease, and Steve greatly enjoyed their company.

He stood up as the elevator dinged, and met the mighty embrace of Thor. "Steve, it is very good to see you again, I hope you are doing well."

Steve patted him on the back, and walked right into Natasha, who hugged him just as fiercely. "We all miss you, Steve, and look! We brought you a surprise!"

Much to his surprise, Tony stepped out of the elevator as well. As rare as visits from Bruce, Rhodey, Sam, Pepper, Clint or even Jane (who all had accompanied the Avengers to Asgard) were, Tony was the least likely to visit, because of his weakened state. He wasn't as strong, or young as the rest of them, so if he contracted the disease, he was most likely going to die from it. So his visits were limited. He had only visited twice in the past two years, actually. "It's a pleasure to welcome you back to Stark tower, sir. Welcome Miss Natasha, and Mr. Thor."

Tony sprayed Steve with a blue liquid before hugging him, to kill any bacteria residing on his clothes. "It's really good to see you all, this week's been hell. The gangs are getting louder around these parts." Steve joked, trying to lighten the mood. He decided that it was a bad idea when he saw the pity flash through their eyes. "I'm okay guys, really. I'm helping people, remember?"

Instead of acknowledging what Steve had said, Tony shouted a command to Jarvis. "Jarvis, quarantine this floor, would you? I want to stay for a little while, and catch up with Capsicle here." Nicknames stuck for a while, apparently.

"Certainly sir." Came the AI's reply.

The Avengers chatted for hours, catching up with their team leader, drinking wine from Tony's perfectly preserved stash, and luckily for Steve, Thor was kind enough to bring some potent Asgardian mead with him, strong enough to make Steve a little tipsy, which he was grateful for.

After countless stories about adventures on Asgard, and a particularly cringe-worthy about Clint beating the finest archer on Asgard and having to lay low for a few days, Steve brought up what he had discovered that previous morning.

"It was appalling, guys. The kids, they're faces were just so… empty. And you should've heard what they were teaching them in one of the classes! It's the kind of stuff you read about in horror stories!" Steve ranted, retelling the horrors he had witnessed at the high school.

Thor and Natasha were fuming, and Tony looked vaguely pissed off, but resigned. "You know, Steve, there's plenty of space in the tower, and more than enough food available of Asgard, and I'm sure it gets pretty lonely around here." Tony babbled, his voice getting more and more excited by the second.

Steve shot Tony a mild glare. "Tony, you know I can't do that, remem-"

Tony cut Steve off with a wave of his hand. "Yeah yeah, I get that, but that was only one kid. Tell me, if you found a kid suffering, who was willing to trust you, and talk to you, wouldn't you offer them a place here?"

Steve sighed. "Yeah, but I haven't met a kid like that in all the time since this happened Tony."

"That's because you haven't been looking! Just one kid, Steve. We'll have Heimdall looking over you, to make sure you're ok. Who knows, maybe if it all goes well, you can start taking in kids off of the street, even breaking them out of the loony asylum-"

"No, Tony. It's too dangerous. That many kids? With Powers? I mean, really, that's practically calling for a reason to burn the tower down."

"Fine, try one kid, see how it goes. Just try, Steve. Get a kid to trust you, let them move in, change somebody's life. You're too lonely, and I hate the thought of you cooped up in here, wallowing in your sadness. Just try, please Steve. You said you wanted to help, and this is the best way to do it."

Tony looked pleading, one of the rare times the soldier had ever seen such a thing, and despite the growing list of reasons not to take a super-powered off of the streets and let them live in the tower, Steve just sighed again. "Fine, I'll give it a shot. But no promises."

Tony stood up, patting Steve on his shoulder. "Atta boy, stay strong soldier. I believe we are the guests of honour tonight, are we not?"

Thor nodded. "Yes, it is time to depart. We must allow time to get ready." The thunder god turned towards Steve. "You are always welcome in Asgard, Steve. Just call to Heimdall and he shall bring you to Asgard."

Steve hugged everybody again before waving goodbye, his thoughts churning. ' _Could he take in kids off of the street? Could he break them out of the reform schools, or stop them from being sold on the black market?'_

The super soldier handed out the nightly meals, and went to sleep soon after, his thoughts wild with the possibility of finally making a difference in this city, and helping people.

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 **Please don't forget to favourite and review, you're reviews mean the world to me guys!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm sorry, I couldn't keept my hands away from the keys. Enjoy!**

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"Good morning sir, the temperature today is expected to hit a top of 30 degrees farenheight, with…"

Steve toned out Jarvis's usual wake up alarm. Because of Jarvis, Steve was one of the few people that could still see the news. According to the news, Washington DC was under control, they had already erected a wall around the entirety of the place to keep unwanted guests _out_ of the city, and keep the immune ones in. There were a lot of small towns like that at the moment, but Washington was the only city he knew of.

Steve looked up at the video footage of another terrorist attack on Las Angeles, the other city that the government was trying to get up and running again. They were getting worse and worse, using the kids for more dastardly purposes. It was upsetting, but not surprising.

The soldier ambled down to the food vault, not at all surprised to see it had been replenished from Thor's visit yesterday. Steve then spent the next hour moving food to the walk in fridge in the dining room and packaging all the rest of it that was kept in pots and wrapped in cloths into plastic containers, which Tony had an overabundant supply. Seriously, a whole room was in the tower was dedicated to little plastic food containers. Tony had managed to get a shipment in when he found out the country was going to hell, and Steve had thanked him for his quick thinking ever since.

When he was done, Steve carefully selected a container of dehydrated Asgardian fruits from the back of the pile (by eating the older food nothing went to waste) and trudged up to the dining room to eat. Jarvis began to play more of the news footage he had seen that morning and Steve watched with a little more attention.

"As you can see, this looks like the work of Sunday, one of the more vocal terrorist group attacking our nation. They have spray painted their name on this building I'm standing next to," the reporter looked up and pointed, "All the way up there! Witnesses have said to seen a girl about the age of 13 flying around up there less than hour ago, and she has said to of have painted the word up there, as you can see…"

' _Flying.'_ Steve thought. _'That's a new one.'_

"Is there any good news, today, Jarvis?"

"Accessing footage." Came the reply.

"Approximately two days ago, the reform centre at Harvard University released a report that they're making exceptional progress with a particular group of children there, and that they should be ready to be released within the next two years."

Steve stood up and just stopped himself from punching another hole in the wall. He usually did that a lot when his emotions caught up with him. He needed to go for a run, and work off the extra energy. He pulled on his backpack, deciding to give out some of the older food to the people on the streets, and mulled over Tony's words from last night.

" _Fine, try one kid, see how it goes. Just try, Steve. Get a kid to trust you, let them move in, change somebody's life. You're too lonely, and I hate the thought of you cooped up in here, wallowing in your sadness. Just try, please Steve. You said you wanted to help, and this is the best way to do it."_

Damn it, of course he was right. Steve _did_ want to make a difference, if only on his city block, and even though he would say it's untrue until his last breath, the soldier _was_ lonely. But how would a kid help that? A kid that could zap him, fly at him, throw cars at him, it's terrifying.

' _But they're only kids, Steve."_ His mind whispered. The soldier groaned aloud and realised that his subconscious had already made a decision for him. Of course he would give it a go. Tony had him hook, line and sinker when he brought up the bit about helping people. He finished stuffing the bag full of food and zipped it up, looking for where he left his shield yesterday. If he was approaching superhuman kids on the street again, there was no way he wasn't taking his shield.

"Have a pleasant run, sir." The AI wished as Steve exited the building, immediately stopping to hand out the first meal of the day to the family he had seen yesterday. They thanked him profusely, and Steve checked that they had enough blankets for the cold winter. They were lucky. They had managed to scavenge some thick, fluffy blankets from a house and were using it to keep their two kids warm. Not all families abandoned their kids once they learned of their powers, the soldier was glad to see the unconditional love that the mother and father held in their eyes when they looked down at the kids picking at the strange food.

"It's food from Asgard, where Thor comes from. Remember Thor? Thunder god, big hammer, blonde hair? I assure you, it's all very edible and won't cause you harm."

"Thank you so much, Captain. You don't know how much this means to us." The two small boys at their feet gazed up at him in awe.

' _See?'_ His mind whispered. ' _They're not all bad, the kids. They're just scared.'_

Steve smiled at them and continued his morning run, occasionally stopping to pass out a meal to a grateful street-goer. He kept a keen eye out for any kids in the he gutters or alleyways. He knew they would be hiding, but not so much this time of day, as this was the day they ventured out to look for food, and another place to lay low for the day from Hunters and gang members.

Steve had observed the occasional hunter as they roamed the street. He had always thought that they were helping the kids when they took them away, thus always thought well of the hunters. But now he wanted to kick them all off of the streets.

He kept dodging and weaving through rusting cars, when he saw it. A hunter, chasing a kid through the streets. The kid was African American, only looked about 14, and he looked desperate to get away from the man with the red cross on his chest. Steve couldn't let it happen, he had to intervene.

He followed the pair, looking for an opening. He followed the two as they ducked through alleys and over fences, and finally an opening presented itself. Steve threw the shield and the hunter fell onto the ground, knocked out cold.

Steve tilted his head, trying to listen with his super-enhanced hearing for the young boy, and sighing in relief when he heard the short laboured breaths from behind a trash bin, tucked into a corner at the dead end of the alleyway.

"Hey," Steve cooed. "It's okay, that man isn't chasing you anymore. I took him out for you. Well, not took him _out,_ he's not dead, just knocked out cold.

Steve got closer, and he could finally see the bag of skin and bones sitting with huddled with his head in his knees.

"I'm here to help you. Look, do you want some food?" Steve unzipped the bag before sliding it over to the boy, who cautiously picked it up and examined it curiously. It was a simple Asgardian food that could be mistaken for fried rice.

"It might taste a little funny, but I promise you its edible. It's from As-"

Steve's sentence was cut off when the boy threw the container of food, directly at the super soldier's face. The container somehow managed to open in mid-air and cover Steve with a thick sticky sauce and Asgardian rice. Steve just sat there, still crouched, with the most bewildered expression on his face; it would've been funny if not for the circumstances.

The boy spoke, a slight accent coating his voice. "You only want to sell me; even Captain America is selling people now! Stay away from me!"

"No, I want to help you!" the soldier said, quickly recovering and trying to calm the frightened teen down. The boy jumped over Steve and ran out of the alley and into the streets. Steve just sighed, feeling dejected and even close to tears. He had actually tried to help one of the kids, and what did he get? Covered in rice. That's what he got for trying. At least he didn't get attacked by the kid's powers. That's a good thing.

Steve stood up, trying to wipe the majority of the food from the shoulders of his light grey sweatshirt and giving up. He would need to scrub this shirt raw to get the damned stuff out. Steve simply walked out, kicking dust on the still-unconscious hunter and making his way home. He stopped to hand to hand out more meals on the way back to the tower; ignoring the strange stares he received from strangers.

He arrived at the tower with a few meals to spare, which he left for the family he had talked to earlier that camped outside the tower. They weren't there at the moment, but he hoped they would return and find the meals by the door and the tower and use them to fill their stomachs for the night. Steve thought that tomorrow, when he saw them, he might invite them into the tower. It was a better alternative to taking in a single kid. The parents would be able to keep the kids calm, he would be helping more people, and the family would have a place to stay. It was a win-win situation. Tonight he would get a bedroom ready for them, so that they will be comfortable when they stay.

Steve grinned at his genius idea, and mentally listed all of the things that would make the small family comfortable. He would put one of the many TV screens that littered the building and install one in there, big fluffy blankets, and Steve was damned sure he had seen some toys and board games tucked away in a small towel closet the other week.

* * *

After a quick shower, he got to work, spending the majority of the day dragging bed frames mattresses into Thor's old room, (because that was the room without any hidden knives or half-finished inventions lying around the place) and stocking the room with anything the he could find that might be useful to them, such as unopened toothbrushes, Natasha's old hairbrush, Clint's boots, Bruce's hairdryer, and other necessary miscellaneous items.

Steve was actually really excited. He _was_ very lonely, and he thought a family of people would not only put him on the way to finally making a difference in this city (even if it was only one family), it meant he would also have company. He would have somebody to say good morning to everyday, someone to talk with, and someone even to argue with. He hates to say it, but he missed walking into the kitchen every morning and arguing with Tony about topics they disagreed on, or just petty little things, like who used his private shower just to annoy him again. Steve knew that it was Clint, but took the blame for it every time, thinking it was hilarious to let the game carry on. Everybody knew it was Clint, except Tony, which made it even funnier.

Steve sighed just as he finished making the last bed as he remembered the antics that went on inside the tower. In this very room, they Steve had followed Natasha and Clint and watched them bedazzle Thor's hammer with pretty pink and blue gems, just for the fun of. Thor had exclaimed that his hammer was now encrusted with the gems of the gods, and waved it around proudly for everybody to see. He was very disheartened when they all started falling off.

"Sir, I must alert you, there is somebody else in the tower. I do not know how they got in, or what they are doing, but my sensors are picking up movement three floors below you, in the home theatre."

Steve's blue eyes narrowed and he pulled the shield off of his back. He didn't want to kick anyone out right now, now that he had just finished preparing a room to accompany others, but it had to be done. He didn't want more of the tower destroyed, or more things stolen. He quickly grabbed a container of food and made his way down to the 39th floor. He was currently at floor 42, which belonged entirely to Thor.

Steve stepped out of the elevator and caught the flash of movement just before it disappeared. "Hey, come out. I'm not going to hurt you, but you can't stay here. I'll give whoever you are a meal and send you on your way, but you have to leave." He hated to say the words, but the majority of people these days were violent and desperate, and that was not someone that you should let live with you.

Much to his surprise (and slight twinge of fear) a very familiar looking teen stepped out from behind the giant fluffy white couch that the team had spent hours on, watching movies and throwing snacks at each other.

It was the teen that had upended the Asgardian fried rice on him earlier that day. He looked tired, and skinny, his dark skin was unnaturally dull. Steve was about to ask him what he was doing here, before he spoke. "I am very sorry about earlier, if it makes a difference."

Steve didn't know how to respond, and just stood there while the teen watched him carefully.

"What's your name?" Steve asked, trying to keep his voice steady and calm. He had no idea what this kid could do yet, but he also didn't want him to run away.

"Chad. My name is Chad. I know who you are; you were my little sister's idol before she…" There was a moment of silence as understanding was shared between the two. Nobody alive today in this country at the moment hadn't lost someone. For Steve, it was Agent Hill. He hadn't been very close with her, but he trusted her, and she was a friend. It was a dark day in the Avengers tower, the day they got the news that she had passed.

Chad got a hold of his emotions, and offered Steve a weak smile. "If you're going to kick me out of here, I would be very thankful for that meal you offered beforehand." His voice had a slight African accent to it that made his voice seem loud but gentle at the same time, outspoken but kind.

Steve sighed and ran a calloused hand through his messy sandy blonde hair. "Follow me, I'll heat it up for you."

Chad's eyes gleamed at the idea of a hot meal, and followed eagerly. "It's alright, Jarvis. It's just a kid named Chad, and he's harmless as long as he promises to behave?" Steve said, giving an amused smile when Chad snorted, by nodded anyway.

"Certainly Captain Rogers, welcome Mr. Chad. I hope you find everything to your liking." The teen's eyed widened to something that looked almost comical, and he looked around frantically to find the source of the voice.

"Hey, calm down. It's just Jarvis. He is an AI that runs the tower, controls the elevators, lights, power, water, etc. He's very polite."

Chad gave one last curious glance toward the roof of the theatre room and then followed Steve into the elevator. "Dining room, please Jarvis."

"Certainly sir."

* * *

"So how did you break in here in the first place?" Steve asked, eager to learn more about the strange teen. From what he has learnt, Chad Sipaki was 14 and a half years old, and his family moved from Nigeria when Chad was 8 years old, with his older brother Nathaniel and his younger sister Aniyah. He was semi-fluent in a language called Yoruba, but hadn't practiced it in a while. His older brother had moved out only a year before Ash swept the nation, and Chad hadn't had contact with him since. Aniyah had died three weeks into the sickness, as with his father. Chad's mother had been looking after him, and they lived on the streets for about a year and a half before they were attacked by a gang and she died the next morning. That was nine months ago.

In all truthfulness, Steve was extremely surprised that Chad had told him so much. The kid spoke about his struggles and the horrors he had witnessed with a cold indifference, or a numb acceptance. Steve couldn't tell the difference. He was matter of fact, as if he were reading a report aloud to a classroom, like these things hadn't affected him personally. It broke the soldier's heart to hear this coming from a person so young.

Chad shrugged. "There's a barred window around he back, I just slipped through it and decided to lay low for the night."

Steve's jaw dropped. "B-but that tower's on the 39th floor! How the hell did you get all the way up there?!"

Chad gave a small smile, and placed his palm on the previously abandoned lid of the plastic container, pulled his hand up. The lid stuck to his hands, and he offered it out to Steve, a silent challenge glinting in his dark eyes.

Steve poked the lid, albeit very cautiously to begin with. He then tried to tug it off, but it wouldn't budge. With once last tug, the container lip broke in half, leaving Steve staring down at the sharp of plastic in sheer astonishment.

"I see how you got in now. That's pretty amazing, you-"

"That's not all I can do. Here put your hand out."

Steve was still very cautious, but the two had been chatting for over an hour now, with Steve learning more and more about Chad, and Chad smiling as Steve retold some of the things the Avengers had gotten up to before the Ash had hit. Unlike most of the other kids Steve had told stories about the Avenger to, Chad seemed more interested in the daily home-life and antics of his team. He even laughed once when Steve had told the story of when Bruce got sick and tired of Natasha and Clint breaking into his lab and bedazzling whatever they could get their hands on, (apparently it was Tony's fault for getting Clint a bedazzler for his birthday as a joke) so he enlisted the help of Thor to pay them back.

They let Tony in on it, and gleefully accepted, putting in a request to multiple businesses that hired out animals. Clint's room was filled was hawks, ravens and owls, that all scared the living daylights when he walked into his room to retrieve his bow. Thor had somehow managed to get four fully grown horses into Natasha's room that snorted at her when he entered. Not hearing any shouts of surprise or alarm, Thor and Bruce snuck into her room, and saw her lying atop one of the larger horses, calming flicking through a magazine. She merely raised an eyebrow at them. They didn't prank her after that.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Steve made the decision to extend out his hand toward Chad, which the young teen concentrated very hard on before touching the tip of his finger to Steve's and giving him a light zap. The soldier pulled his hand back in surprise, having already pulled his shield up to defend himself.

When nothing else happened, he peered over the side of the vibranium edge, and saw a smug-looking Chad. "Not funny, kid. What _was_ that anyway?"

Chad leaned back a little in the comfortable wooden chair, making it creak slightly. "It's static electricity. I just concentrate very hard on something and let it building up, and when I touch whatever I've been concentrating on, it releases a zap. I can stun a cat for a few minutes if I really try. I think it also helps me climb things as well."

Steve cocked an eyebrow. "How so?"

Chad thought carefully for a moment before explaining. "Have you ever rubbed a balloon in your hair, and watched all the hairs stick to the balloon? A little like that." Steve nodded and mulled over the explanation. It was plausible, better than anything he could've thought of. The kid was actually pretty smart, Steve realised. He figured this all out on his own.

By that time, the pair had finished their meal and were sitting in companionable silence for a few minutes, until Chad stood up, his chair scraping behind him. "Thank-you very much for the meal, Captain. It was strange, but good. It'll be a while since I get a hot meal, so thanks."

Chad began walking toward the elevator, when Steve stopped him.

"I'll make you a deal. If you help me hand out meals tonight, I'll let you stay the night, even carry the shield if you'd like."

Genuine shock overtook Chad's features for a few seconds before he smiled. It was a small smile, but Steve caught it. "I only sleep on silk sheets, and I demand breakfast in bed, only the best caviar."

Steve chuckled, remembering how he had observed that Chad's version of humour was straight-up sarcasm. "C'mon you sassy little ratbag, we have people to feed."

The night had gone relatively well, they handed out all of the meals, and Steve felt very dejected when he didn't see the family of four on his evening meal run. He even ventured a little further in an attempt to find them, but to no avail. Chad had insisted on carrying the shield the whole time, claiming that it would "only slow Steve down, so he was better off holding it." The soldier just hoped he didn't stick his hands onto it and refuse to let go.

He got home, dropping the empty backpack on his bed, and jumped when he realised that Chad had followed him into the room. "Oh, sorry about that. Um, I haven't exactly prepared a room or anything for you, but I have a few spare bedrooms on my floor, there's one across the hall. It should be unlocked, if it's not, just ask Jarvis to open it under my command. Did you get that Jarvis?"

"Yes Captain Rogers." Was the reply from the polite computerised voice.

Chad nodded, and started to walk out of the room. Steve followed him ,just to make sure he got there, even if it was only across the hall. "If there's any trouble, just ask Jarvis, he'll either help you or alert me, and I'll help you out. Anything you need, just ask. Please don't leave before I wake up either, I'll probably freak out. There's a TV in there, ask Jarvis for a movie if you want one, he'll play it. Uh, if you get hungry, just wake me up and I'll fix you something, okay? And-"

"Thank you, I'll probably be more than entertained, it's gonna be nice to watch TV again. Goodnight, and thank-you for letting me stay the night."

Steve gave a watery grin. "Hey, thanks for helping me deliver meals. Sleep well, when you wake up, just go into the elevator and press floor 42. It'll take you to where I'll be, eating breakfast. Oh, and there's pyjamas in the closet, they probably won't fit you, but wear them anyway. "

Chad nodded and slipped into the room, closing the door behind him. Steve found it hard to sleep that night, wondering if Chad was enjoying the movie he could hear faintly playing in the teen's room, wondering if he was comfortable. Jarvis informed him that 'Mr. Chad' had fallen asleep watching 'How To Train Your Dragon'. Steve asked Jarvis to turn the sound down, but not mute it, and dim the brightness of the screen, and turn it off in fifteen minutes. After another hour, Steve finally dozed off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 **So how did you like it? Please review, your reviews mean the world to me, truly guys. I would you guys who reviewed (all four of you, you're amazing) and those who favourite and followed! You truly make my day. I have big plans for this story, and I would just like to clear a few things. This takes place before Age of Ultron, but after the events of iron Man 3, Thor 2 and The Winter Soldier, just in case you were wondering. The response from the last chapter was so encouraging guys, keep it up! Tell me what you liked, thought was funny, identified with, anything that could be improved, any suggestions, I want to hear it all! Favourite, follow and review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Back again! I was overwhelmed by the fantastic reviews I received for the last chapter, and I can't thank you guys enough! I responded to the majority of them, I'll try to respond to the rest very soon. And to those who I can't message who reviewed (you know who you are) I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Be prepared for a little bonding and a little drama in this chapter! Enjoy!**

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Steve could already hear the deep breaths and soft footsteps coming down the hallway and into the dining room. Because he had a guest, he decided to cook up some of the bacon Thor had dropped off (yes, not all Asgardian food was foreign and strange). Steve wished that they had some eggs on hand, and contemplated the idea of turning one of the floors into a chicken run, capturing some of the chickens that ran wild on the streets; maybe even have a vegetable garden in there with them. The one with the windows on all sides would do very nicely…

"It's been a while since I've woken up to the smell of bacon wafting down the hall, or in this case, through the tower."

Steve cocked his eyebrow in surprise as Chad entered the spacious tiled kitchen and dining area. "You have an enhanced sense of smell as well?" he asked curiously. Steve wanted to learn as much about this kid as he possibly could, especially if he was planning on going through with the idea that had been banging around in his head since yesterday afternoon.

Chad chuckled lightly and shook his head. "I've always had a better sense of smell than most people. Plus, anybody with a sense of smell would be able to smell it through the ventilation systems."

Huh, guess that explained it. Now that Steve thought about it, the smell was pretty strong, even though he was cooking it and had an enhanced sense of smell. He knew the bacon had finished cooking when the number of splatters of grease leaping up and burning his skin increased to an obnoxious number. He scraped it out of the pan and onto a ceramic plate alongside two pieces of toast (without butter, unfortunately) and fished out a knife and fork. He set the steaming meal down in front of an almost-drooling Chad and teen thanked him before digging in with vigour, not bothering with eating utensils.

Steve watched him from the corner of his eye, as he set his toast in the toaster (thank god they still had an abundant supply of frozen bread) and dropped his bacon in the pan, retreating to the other side of the kitchen as the fatty meat spat and sizzled. He could perfectly visualise all of the individual reactions that his fellow team mates would have when they saw Chad shovelling his food down.

Tony would probably be annoyed and make a crude Joke, which only Clint would laugh at after placing a bet on how fast Chad would finish. Natasha would roll her eyes at Tony's joke and mutter something about all men being the same, Bruce would give a small smile and return to reading his morning newspaper, and Thor would give a hearty laugh, despite not really getting the butt of Tony's joke. It was these little things, these little interactions between his team mates that Steve held close to his heart, and also missed dearly.

Steve returned to the pan to flip the pieces of bacon and fled once again for fear of being burnt. He was certainly glad that Tony wasn't here to see him running away from bacon grease, even though he would probably do the same thing.

He jumped when he realised that he hadn't given Chad anything to drink with his meal, which was already half-finished. He hurried over to the cupboards and pulled out a glass, hastily filling it three quarters of the way with water from a bottle in the fridge. "What kind of cordial do you prefer in the mornings, Chad?" Steve asked, observing the supply of the sweet liquid that hadn't been spiked by Tony. Cordial lasted a long time, which Steve was grateful for. The soldier had a bit of a sweet tooth.

"Anything, I don't mind, thank-you."

Steve's eyebrows furrowed and he sighed. He didn't really like picking things for people, even when they'd said that they would be fine with anything. The man didn't want to keep Chad waiting, so he picked lime and hoped it would be ok.

After pouring it, he placed it carefully in front of Chad who thanked him once again, and took his bacon out of the pan and the five pieces of toast out of the toaster, setting it on a larger plate. Sure, he ate a lot, but his metabolism burned five times faster than the average human, so he needed more food.

Setting down his steaming plate piled high with fatty meat and crunchy bread, Steve poured himself a glass of raspberry cordial and carried everything over to where Chad had slowed down a little, and was halfway through finishing the rest of his meal.

"Did you sleep alright?" The soldier asked, swallowing the last of the first piece of toast he had just eaten.

"Best sleep I've had in a while, thank-you. It was nice to have at least one night of luxury; I hope I haven't gotten too spoilt." Chad jested.

Steve hesitated, wondering if he should ask Chad what had been on his mind ever since he had invited the teen to the dining room for a hot meal. He knew it most-likely wasn't allowed, and that Trevor Nelson, the person who was in charge of the reform school he visited yesterday, had told him that if he saw or caught any kids, to hand them in immediately. Something about not being able to handle what they could do. Chad looked at him strangely, obviously having already picked up on the fact that Steve was about to say something.

"About that… It gets a little lonely around here sometimes, and you were really good at helping me hand out meals yesterday, I might need someone to help me do it more often. And since I don't really want to go around looking for you when I need help, would you…." Steve took a deep breath, and calmed himself.

"Would you like to stay here?"

Chad's eyes had been getting wider and more hopeful with every word that tumbled from Steve's mouth. He saw before the captain even started talking that he looked nervous, as if Chad wouldn't jump at the offer for three meals a day and a warm place to live. He didn't talk to too many people these days, and trusted even less. But he could see such genuine hope in the older man's eyes, such genuine concern when he asked what flavour of cordial he wanted. It was good to have options again, and even better that someone offered them to him. And now, here he was, asking if he wanted to stay in the _god damned Avengers Tower._ Aniyah would've loved him.

"I was wondering when you'd ask." Chad grinned, as he leaned back in the dining room chairs.

A broad smile overtook Steve's face, as he leaned forward in anticipation. "So is that a yes?"

Chad nodded, only slightly, but it was a clear message. "I would like that very much, thank-you."

It had been a good day, probably one of the best he had had so far, since he returned from Asgard after refusing Thor's offer to stay permanently. In the morning, Steve updated his journal while letting Chad watch the news being broadcasted from Washington D.C. and have a much-needed morning shower after over two years without one. It shocked Steve every time he thought about it, that this life-hardened teen had survived two years on the streets on New York City, nine of those without his mother or anybody to take care of him. Hell, he did it without anybody in general, as afar as Steve knew.

It was a sad feeling, to know that somebody so young, and so smart, (Steve had picked up on more of Chad's intelligence when he talked about his love of music, and tried to explain all the different types and songs he can play. Steve was sure he had a guitar lying around here somewhere…) had seen his mother been killed in front of him, and was then forced to surviving on the streets amidst gangs, the cold, and hunters. It made Steve feel incredibly guilty, that he hadn't taken him in sooner.

How could he have been so selfish? To live in a huge tower, that could probably house _hundreds_ of people, and choose to live alone, and kick out anybody that tried to stay in? ' _Because they were petty criminals that would kill you or anybody else without remorse or mercy just to get a decent meal, and would lay waste to the home you shared with your friends before the country turned to shit'_ the darker part of his had subconscious whispered.

He had once been open to the idea of opening up the tower as a safe-haven, and had been keeping an eye out for somebody that wouldn't try to steal as much as they could and run before he was attacked by the kid. That was why he was so very wary of the kids with powers. The fire girl had very-nearly killed him, who knew what another one could do? It was terrifying to think of, but thinking about it now, they were only kids. They were young, they were scared. He should've been helping them out sooner than this, instead of huddled up inside the tower like a coward.

Kids weren't common to see on the street, which was why Steve was so surprised to see the two small little boys huddled up close to their parents yesterday. He had only seen a few others, darting into alleyways or out of sight whenever he passed them on a run. He wouldn't pursue them, they wouldn't attack him, everybody would come out unharmed. He shuddered at the thought of having to hurt a kid if he was being attacked. He didn't think it was in him to do something that was so far against his morals.

After Chad had finished his shower, and exited wearing one of Pepper's red track pants and black scarves and Natasha's grey hood and boots, (they were the only articles of clothing that where anywhere close to fitting him) they both set off on the morning breakfast round, handing out containers of food to the people huddled by fires and looking through various shops and stores for more clothes that would fit Chad's slim figure. They found a few 'I love New York!' souvenir tees and a pair of loose-fitting board shorts that Steve stuffed into the muddy brown backpack he usually kept the food in.

Chad had lead the way for a little bit of the search for clothes, and Steve had been curious when he found himself following the teen into a post office, that had the windows broken and all of the shelves looted. Even the toys and puzzles hadn't been spared. The soldier stepped over the glass, the shards crunching under the weight of his boots, and glanced around to see where Chad had run off to.

He almost hit the roof as he jumped when he felt something zap his shoulder. He turned and glared the giggling kid that was standing next to a large grey door all the way over the other side of the room. How the hell did he get there so quickly, and quietly for that matter?

"Knock it off; scaring me like that is not funny." Steve said, rubbing his shoulder and trying his best to give the scolding look he could manage, but a small smile managed to break through the captain's stern features, and he sighed at his inability to keep a straight face.

"Why are we here, anyway? A post office doesn't exactly sell designer jeans, you know."

Chad snorted softly and rolled his eyes at Steve's obliviousness. "Oh yeah? Where do you think is the best place to find stuff that you need, or might need, that hasn't been looted yet?" Chad asked, pointing to the sign that read, "Package Room, Employees Only."

Steve almost smacked himself when he realised just what Chad was talking about. People ordered and received all kinds of stuff, and there was bound to be a lot of packages, judging by the size of this particular post office. Not only that, but the door was locked, meaning that nobody had been in there yet. It was an untapped treasure trove.

The teen looked at Steve expectantly, and Steve realised what Chad wanted him to do. "Stand back; I don't want you getting hit."

Chad backed off and Steve brought his shield back behind him and sliced the grey iron padlock clean off. The door swung open, and Steve's eyes widened as he looked up, yes, _up,_ trying to see exactly how large the room was, and how many packages there were. A couple of abandoned forklifts sat gathering dust of the corner and old security cameras hung from the ceiling.

Chad darted in, for lack of a better phrase, looking like a kid in candy land. He rushed around the room, picking up different sizes packages and feeling them for softness, trying to tell which ones contained clothes. Steve gave a bemused smile and decided to help out, patting and poking the parcels to try and feel which ones held clothes or shoes.

Chad gave a shout of joy, and Steve poked his head through the shelves to try and see if the teen had found any clothes his size, rolling his eyes when he spotted him waving around a brand new iPhone 6, still in the brand new plastic wrapping. Tony wasn't too fond of Apple products, saying that they were flawed, and needed way too much improvement and tweaking to be even available to the general products.

"We're here for clothes, not fancy overpriced gadgets." Steve called from where he had his head poking through the shelves. He caught the deadpan expression on Chad's face and smiled to himself. The kid reminded the soldier a little of Bruce. They were both very polite, and had a sarcastic streak that showed whenever they were making a joke, or were told something they didn't agree with.

For the next hour, Steve and Chad shuffled through the thousands of packages within the steel walls of the package room, each making their own individual little piles of things that they thought they would need, or looked cool. So far, Steve had found an expensive looking pair of black hunting gloves that fit his broad hands, a few light purple duffel bags, a vintage leather Jacket, a silvery-grey Swiss army knife with a black glass handle, a set of walkie-talkies and a several flashy looking watches.

He had tossed one of the bags to Chad, who had made his way across the room, closer to where Steve was. Chad thanked him, carefully packing all of his discoveries into it and returned to opening packages. They had found a whole year's worth of clothes, but only a small percentage of them fit Chad comfortably. It was still more than enough clothes to keep Chad going.

They had chatted occasionally, half-shouting to each other from across the room, usually joking about a strange name that they read on one of the packages.

"Have you found everything you need Chad?" Steve called to the dark shape he could just barely see through the rows of packages.

"Just five more minutes, I want to find another pair of shoes, just in case my other ones break!"

Steve highly doubted that the bright red pair of Nikes with white stripes would break any time soon. Tony had mentioned once or twice that they were very durable, and could take a lot of wearing before they started to fall apart.

They ended up staying another twenty minutes, because Chad was having such a good time, he didn't have the heart to spoil it for him. "Found them! They look about my size too!"

Steve sighed with relief, shouldering the purple duffel bag carrying all of his stuff and made his way toward the door. "Ready to go kid? It's getting pretty cold in here."

Chad rolled his eyes, smiling slightly and muttered something about spoilt super soldiers as he passed Steve and exited the parcel room. After wedging the door shut at Chad's request to make sure the parcel room door was only able to be opened again by either a super soldier or a Mack truck, Steve followed, unable to stop the contented smile from spreading across his face as the two made their way back to the tower.

The rest of the day was spent sorting out Chad's room and trying to make it as homey as possible. Chad really liked the soft white and blue tones that themed the walls and carpets, and the silvers and soft reds that accentuated the furniture and decorations. The majority of the rooms on Steve's floor were like that actually, including the bathrooms, kitchen, living room, the other two guest bedrooms, and gym. Yes, he had his own private gym on his floor, just like Natasha and Clint had a weapons vault and training room on their, and Bruce had a small lab on his floor.

His room was decorated very similarly, the only difference being that it was a little larger and the reds, whites, blues and silvers were stronger and more vibrant than those in the guest bedrooms. Pepper and Clint had worked together on the design ideas for everybody's separate floors. Nobody was allowed to talk about the day the two hot headed designers strongly disagreed on the colour layout for Thor's room. It hadn't ended well, and resulted in apologies all around. They would be appalled to hear that Steve had completely rearranged everything in the Thunder God's main room.

Chad and Steve moved a few things around here and there, Chad decorated the walls with a bundle of old fashioned movie posters he had found at the post office, set up the simple white office desk with a leather bound journal and a packet of cheap office pens the teen had fished out of a huge box that was almost as big as he was. Steve gave Chad one of the watches he had found, and watched him pull out more miscellaneous items from his duffel bag and set them around his room. He narrowed his eyes at the iPhone 6, the last thing Chad pulled from his little stash. Chad simply turned around and gave Steve a look that dared the soldier to argue. He didn't, instead choosing to speak to Jarvis.

"Jarvis, do we still have any wifi left?"

"Although that is not exactly how it works, Captain Rogers, yes, we do still have 'some left'."

"Good. Chad will probably need it if he wants to download games onto that new phone of his."

Chad stared at Steve in disbelief, and then smiled a big, joyful smile. "Thank-you, Steve."

After they had eaten dinner, where they had gotten to know each other a little better with Steve recalling some more of his team's antics and Chad chatting about some of his crazier teachers at one of the private schools across Manhattan (Steve couldn't remember its name), they two had settled down to watch the rest of the movie Chad had fallen asleep watching last night. Steve had already seen the movie with Natasha, who was a sucker for animated movies, but enjoyed the half of it nevertheless.

Steve now sat in his room, with Chad fast asleep across the hall, and wrote about the memorable day he had experienced so far in his journal. He didn't like the thought of not keeping track of what had happened, even if the only thing he did all day was watch movies and eat. He finished up after about forty minutes, taking care to include a detailed sketch of Chad a huge fluffy coat, laughing and surrounded by shelves of packages. He smiled at the drawing, shutting his journal and asking Jarvis to flick the lights off, and finally closed his eyes, allowing a small, happy smile to slip onto his face.

Steve bolted upright, awakening to the sound of gunshots in the night. "Jarvis! What the hell was that!" Steve yelled, frantic to find where the noise had come from.

"I do not know if they were in the building or not sir, they sounded very close." Steve shot of bed and rushed into the next room, where Chad was peering out of the windows, trying to see what was going on. He looked terrified, and Steve could see small bright flashes of electricity jumping off of his shoulders. "Chad, stay here. Jarvis will put this room on lockdown, if it's an emergency, Jarvis will let you out. Do not, under any circumstances, follow me. Gunshots aren't too common around here, so I need to check it out. I'll be back soon."

Steve rushed down the elevator, still in his pyjamas, and cautiously stepped out the doors and into the street. A hunter fought against two other people about eighty feet down the road, and a sickening feeling settling in his gut when he recognised just who they were. It was the mother and the father of the two little boys.

The family that he had prepared a room for, and was going to offer them a home in his tower. Steve couldn't see the two little boys, but right now, he had to help the parents. The dad was bleeding openly from a wound in his arm, but was still fighting. Steve started running at full speed, but he was too late. The hunter shot the father right between the eyes, making the man's eyes roll back into his head and crumple to the floor.

"NO!" Steve yelled. He threw his shield at the man with the gun just as he pointed it at the screaming mother. The shield hit him on the head, but not before the man looked up at Steve and surprised and pulled the trigger.

The mother screamed in agony, clawing at the hole in her chest. Steve sprinted over to her, trying desperately to stop the blood pouring from her wound. It was pointless, as a soldier, Steve knew you can't stop the bleeding when it's that bad. When the wound is that deep.

She ceased her screaming and stared sharply as Steve still tried to stop the bleeding with glazed eyes. He knew she was dying, her breaths were becoming shorter and she was shaking uncontrollably. "Ry… Ryan. Chris. P…. please, m-my boys."

"Hey, shhh, it's okay, try to stay with me. Please, try to keep your eyes open." Steve could hardly keep his voice from cracking as the pale woman coughed and black blood bubbled out from her mouth. He wiped it away carefully, whispering soothing words to her, trying to keep her with him.

"T-take…. care…. of them…. please." Steve nodded, whispering promises to her that he would keep them safe and look after them. He held to for another few seconds, listening to her agonised whispers leave her lips. The last of the light drained from her eyes and Steve hung his head, giving a silent sob and standing up, wiping the slick blood on his dark pyjama pants. He could hear the rumbles of vehicles in the distance; probably backup for the hunter that was lying unconscious a few metres away. Steve sprinted and picked up his shield. He had to find these kids.

The trucks were getting closer, and Steve rushed into the alleyway closest to him, sighing in relief when he saw a familiar looking bundle of blankets. He hurried over and crouched down in front the two terrified looking boys, that were clinging onto each other and crying silently. "Hey, shhh, calm down. Your mom, she told me to get you two out of here. I'm going to take you into the tower with me, because there are bad people coming that are looking for you. I'm… I'm going to keep you safe, okay?" Steve asked, trying to keep the desperate urgency out of his tone.

One of the kids nodded, and Steve guessed that it was good enough. He gently picked them both up, blanket and all, resting one child on his hip and balancing the other one (the smaller one) in his arm, using his free hand to hold his shield. He sprinted toward the tower, trying very hard to keep his steps smooth in an attempt not to jostle the boys too much.

He rushed through doors and into the elevator of the tower, just catching the confused shouts from the hunter's backup team as the elevator door's closed. He gave a long sigh of relief, hanging his head. Both of the boys were staring at him with wide, fearful eyes. How the hell was he going to explain to these young kids, that both of their parents had just died?

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 **Yes, a little bit of tragedy, I am sorry for any graphic scenes that you might not of have enjoyed. But this story is rated T, and it is a pretty shitty place that everybody lives in now, so there is bound to be some dark stuff. I hope you liked Steve's and Chad's little bonding experience though, I thought it was pretty cute! Please review, tell me about anything that made you laugh, made you cry, made you angry, confused you, all that jazz! I love hearing from you all!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Back again! Terribly sorry for the lateish chapter, but this will most likely be the waiting time between chapters, if not longer. I thank you for your patience, and your amazing reviews! Enjoy!**

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"Jarvis, please unlock Chad's room and tell him to get in the elevator and go to floor twenty-four and bring a towel with him."

"Certainly sir." Came the AI's reply.

The elevator stopped at his designated floor, and Steve rushed out letting the dirty black blanket drag behind him in his haste. He shouldered his way through the doors of the infirmary, tightening his hold on the wide-eyed boys in his arms.

He set his shield down, and settled them both on one of the neat looking little infirmary cots, and quickly rushed to the sink to wash the blood off of his hands. " _Take care of them."_ The last coherent words spoken by their mother, just before she died. He hated the fact that he left both of them in the streets, for the rest of the hunter's backup to do with as they pleased. He wanted to go out there right now, and knock them all out cold. In fact, that's exactly what he would've done if he hadn't of had other things to take care of, other _people_.

Steve reached up into the overhead cabinet and pulled out an over-stocked first aid kit, chock full of everything an Avenger could ever need if their injuries didn't need more drastic medication. The boys still clung to each other for dear life, not taking their eyes equally bright hazel eyes off of Steve.

Wait… now that Steve got a better look at them, he noticed with a start that one of the boys, the older one who looked about nine years old, had a bright wide streak of blue through the iris of his right eye, and the other, the younger one who looked about six, had a much thinner, yet equally startling stripe of gold that started at the bottom of his hazel iris, cut across over his pupil and ended at the edge of the brown, on the opposite end the colour had started from. Other than that, the rest of their features were fairly similar, dark shaggy chocolate brown hair, narrow faces and wide eyes. It was amazing, and Steve had never seen anything like it. He guessed that the strange colours in their eyes must have something to with their powers.

Steve shook his head and set the bright red first aid kit next to the shivering older boy and unzipped it. He turned his gaze towards the boys, and examined them for injuries. If the mother and father had been fighting off hunters, there was a good chance that they had tried to grab the boys first, which most-likely resulted in some injuries. Steve observed dark bruises forming on each of their arms, a long cut on the older boy's face, the younger one had a busted lip and by the looks of it, a broken finger.

Chad rushed in a moment later carrying two large white fluffy towels, and breathing heavily. His frantic gaze finally settled on where Steve was rummaging through the first aid kit, and the two little boys sitting on the table. The teen cautiously made his way over to the soldier's side, observing the foreigners.

Steve leaned down and lowered his voice to be sure that the two kids couldn't hear him. "Chad, talk to them, get them to calm down a little, see if you can get them talking for me. They're names are Ryan and Chris, but I'm not sure which one's which. See if you can find out for me."

Chad nodded solemnly, and Steve turned back to the first aid kit. He began to pull out all of the various supplies that he would need to help the two boys, including a finger brace, antiseptic, the 'magic' bruise cream that Tony and Bruce had perfected a few years back and a few other various creams and sprays that Steve thought would be useful. He really wished that Bruce was here, he would know exactly what to do, exactly what kinds of medicines to use and even how to talk to them to keep them calm. He was always good with his patients, despite being shy around other people.

Steve gave a small smile when he heard Chad crack a joke beside him, and then very softly ask which one was Chris and which one was Ryan. One of them must've nodded and confirmed their name, because Chad gave a delighted laugh and said what an awesome name they had.

"Watch this." Steve heard him whisper to the boys. Steve smiled to himself and returned back to finding the other bottle of antiseptic. Damn it! Why couldn't Tony replace things! Steve sighed and began to gather the things he had pulled out of the first aid kit, when he felt a prickling sensation on his neck. He turned around to see Chad staring at him intently, and backed away a little. "Chad, don't you dare zap me again." Steve warned, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.

Chad giggled lightly. "I'm not, I promise." The teen said before smothering another fit of laughter, still staring intently at the soldier.

Both of the boy's eyes widened simultaneously, and the older one gave a small smile. The younger one tried to stop himself from laughing, but failed, and burst into a fit of giggles, pointing at Steve. This only made Chad laugh harder, his dark eyes still staring at Steve.

Steve gave a bemused smile, glancing over at the laughing boys and turned to a grinning Chad. "What did you do?"

Chad only laughed harder, until there were tears running down his face, making Steve frown. ' _What the hell is so funny?'_ Steve got his answer when he tried to run his hand through his hair and received a light zap. He jumped back, only making all three boys more amused. Chad was bent over, unable to cease his laughter, the younger boy was now laughing openly, and the older boy was trying very hard not to laugh.

Steve felt his hair, ignoring the tiny zaps he got from doing so, and realised exactly what Chad had done. He knew, because he remembered when he and Clint went to a different gym, and they had trampolines that people could jump on and work out their legs and abdominal muscles. Clint had lay down on one and rolled around; making parts of his hair stick straight up and look like it was floating. Steve had thought it was childish at the time, and went to the elliptical machine.

So that's what they were laughing at. Steve's hair was floating because of the build-up of static electricity that Chad was transmitting into it, and apparently they all found it hilarious. Steve rushed over to the tiny mirror by the small sink and confirmed his suspicions with a shout of surprise. He frantically tried to pat the floating strands of sandy blonde down, but they refused to stick, and Steve kept getting zapped every time he touched his hair.

The older boy lost it; he joined the cacophony of laughter that his little brother and Chad were making upon seeing Steve trying to make his hair go down. Steve stood up, defeated by the static in his hair, and walked over to the boys. Chad looked away, unable to focus anymore as he tried to calm down, and Steve's hair slowly floated back down to normal.

Chad walked over to Steve, wiping tears from his eyes. "The older one is Chris, the younger one is Ryan. I'm sorry about that, but I couldn't resist. It was just too funny."

Steve just rolled his eyes at the antics of the teen, but was secretly very glad he had done it. It had made the boys laughed, and put them at ease. They no longer looked as frightened as before, and were both looking around with a curious spark in their mismatched eyes.

Steve checked his watch, realising with wide eyes that it was almost 4am. He turned to Chad. "Go down to the dining room fridge and find the most normal-looking breakfast food you can find. Also get the bottle of water that's in there as well. Grab it all and bring up here. There should be some plastic bowls in the lower cupboard closest to the stove, and cutlery in the drawer above it, ok?" Chad nodded, still wearing a huge grin. "Thanks, Chad. For all of your help, I mean."

Chad flashed the soldier a smile as he stepped into the elevator and disappeared from view when the flashy silver doors closed.

"Jarvis, please increase the heating in here to a more comfortable level." Steve instructed, and turned to the bewildered boys, who were no doubt wondering who Steve was talking to.

"Certainly Captain Rogers." The polite AI replied. The boys snapped their head up to the ceiling, trying to see where the voice had come from. Steve only sighed warily.

"Jarvis, please introduce yourself to Ryan and Chris."

"Good morning Ryan, Good morning Chris. I am Jarvis, an AI system invented by Mr. Tony Stark, programmed to make his life easier by doing certain tasks, such as accessing the internet to answer a question asked, sorting files and documents, and am also adapted to be downloaded into the Iron Man Mark suits, to help Mr. Stark navigate the systems and guidance controls. You are welcome here, under the command of Mr. Rogers; I do hope you enjoy your stay."

"He's a computer program, and he talks through speakers on the walls, see?" Steve said, pointing to a small speaker in the corner of the room."

"Correct, Mr Rogers."

The boys simply stared at Steve, making the soldier feel a little unnerved.

Steve scratched the back on his neck and cleared his throat, feeling a little anxious under the weight of the stares of Ryan and Chris.

"Well, uh, boys, it looks like the both have some cuts and a few nasty bruises. Chris, you have a long scratch on your chin there, and Ryan, you have a busted lip and by the looks of it, a broken finger. I have all of the stuff here to fix it up."

Chris nodded and Steve got to work, gently wiping off both of their faces with an antiseptic-soaked cloth, put a brace on Ryan's finger and applied the cream to their dark purple bruises. They sat through it with grim faces, their laughing fit from before had seemingly worn off.

"They're dead, aren't they?" Chris said as Steve packed away the supplies back into the first aid kit. Steve visibly flinched at the boy's words, wishing that that wasn't the first thing that came out of his mouth. Steve didn't want to confirm it, but he didn't want to lie to them. They were superhuman kids that had just lost both of their parents in a no-doubt traumatic incident only twenty minutes ago.

"Boys, this is a horrible world we live in today, you know that. There are horrible people out there that want to hurt people, because they're simply bad people. Your parents loved you very much, do not ever forget that." Ryan burst into tears, sobbing into his brothers shoulder, and Chris stroked his head soothingly, his lip wobbling. The older boy stared at Steve with glassy eyes, urging him to go on.

"The last thing she said, your mother, was that she wanted you two taken care of. I promised I would take care of you both, so I want you both to live here, with me and Chad. You can both have your own room, or share a room if you like, and…" Steve trailed off when Chris finally let loose, burying his face in Ryan's hair and wailed for the loss of his parents. Steve hesitantly kneeled on the floor and gently wrapped his arms around the pair, trying to blink away the wetness building up in his eyes. He felt a small head lean against his chest, still sobbing uncontrollably, and Steve gave a miserable sigh. These boys needed time to cry, and Steve wouldn't stop them. They had just lost the last people they had in their lives, after all.

The elevator arrived, and Chad stepped in, carrying the food in two purple plastic Tupperware bowls, a bottle of water and two small silver forks. Steve looked up, trying to convey to Chad to be quiet, and the teen must've got the message, because he tiptoed in and gently set all of the food on a small bedside table.

Chad leaned against the wall, watching with sad eyes as Steve held the distraught kids for another ten minutes. Ryan finally sniffled and pulled back, and Steve let go of them with a sigh. Chris looked up with red-rimmed eyes and gave the soldier a watery smile, still wiping tears from his flushed cheeks. Steve gave a sad smile back, and backed away a little. Chad spoke up.

"I guess you boys are a little hungry, hey? I warmed up some breakfast for you both, if you feel like eating. It's food from Asgard, Thor's world, and he delivered it especially for people who are having a bad day, so I hope it makes you feel a little better."

Steve shot a thankful smile over chad's way and nodded. "If you both stick around, you can meet him. He visits me every week from Asgard, with food and supplies. I'm sure he'd be happy to say hello!"

Chris looked up, his lower lip still wobbling a little, and his oddly coloured eyes still a little glassy. "Can.. can we really meet him? Will he want to meet us?" The kid asked uncertainly, gazing up at Steve with hopeful eyes.

Steve grinned down at them. "Of course! I'd probably have a hard time keeping him away; he'd be delighted to meet you. All of you." Steve said, looking up to where Chad was leaning forward slightly and listening intently.

The boys both looked at each other, varying degrees of excitement flashing over their features, and Chris began to silently chat to his brother. Steve walked over to where Chad was standing, regarding the teen with a newfound sense of respect. His skills with children had proven to be invaluable in helping Steve with the boys.

"I didn't know that Thor was coming, it's news to me. I've got to admit, I'm a little excited as well. I've always wanted to see Mjolnir up close, it seems pretty cool." Chad said, going for nonchalance, but Steve could see the shine of eagerness on his dark features.

"You're certainly good with kids. I'm glad that you're helping me out with Ryan and Chris, I don't know what I would've done if they didn't want to stay with me. I think that you making them laugh definitely calmed them both down a little, and talking about how the food from Asgard will help them with a bad day, that was smart." Steve complimented, regarding Chad with a smile.

The teen snorted, and then smiled softly. "Yeah, I've seen them on the streets a few times actually. I was shivering behind a dumpster, they all walked past and their dad offered me a blanket. It was as thin as a sheet, had holes and rips in it, and barely did anything for the cold, _but it was something,_ you know? They were amazing people to offer something off of their own back and give it to a kid they didn't even know."

"I found them attacking a hunter, trying to give Ryan and Chris a chance to hide. He – the hunter – shot them. The last thing their mother told me was to take care of them, and that their names were Ryan and Chris. The Hunter's backup was coming, and I found the boys and rushed into the tower.'

Steve sighed for the hundredth time that morning, and put a hand on Chad's shoulder. "It's just me and you Chad. We have to take care of these kids, they don't have anybody else, or _anywhere_ else to go to. I know that this is a lot to ask of you, seeing as how you just moved in and everything, but I need your help with these two. Do you-"

Chad waved a hand dismissively. "Cut the heartfelt speech, of course I will."

Steve rolled his eyes lightly and his mind jumped back to something that he had noticed just before he had rushed out into the street earlier. "Chad, when I saw you in your room a little while ago, just before I left the building, you were…. sparking." Steve finished lamely, unable to think of any other way to put it.

Chad looked up at him in surprise before shrugging. "It happens when I'm scared, or angry, I can't control it."

Steve just nodded, putting that memory away in a mental folder and saving it for later.

"So what kinds of powers do these guys have anyway?"

Steve just gave a grim look. "I don't know yet."

The boys have been here for three days now. Steve had set up the other spare room for them on his floor, activating Jarvis to keep an eye on them, bringing down most of the stuff he had originally set up in Thor's room for the whole family and moving into the second guest bedroom. The boys seemed content to sit in there for most of the first day watching movies on their TV, playing board games, drawing, and eating the snacks that Steve and Chad delivered for them every hour.

Steve had tried to play monopoly with them on the first day, but they seemed a little uncomfortable with him around, so he let them have their space and enjoy the newfound luxuries. The next day, Steve cooked bacon and toast again, and Chad arrived at breakfast with Ryan and Chris in tow, much to the captain's surprise. Chad managed to make them laugh by accidently snorting grape cordial up his nose when Steve mentioned the time Natasha kicked Tony in the face when he tried to wake her up after she fell asleep on the couch. It caused Chad to laugh while he was taking a sip of his drink, making some of the sticky cordial to shoot up into his nose. The boy found it hilarious, even Steve couldn't help himself from laughing.

After the teen had recovered, he began telling some stories to keep the boys entertained while Steve hurried to finish his breakfast. Chad's slight accent gave his words and almost musical sound, and Steve found himself leaning in to listen. It was a nice feeling, to have him, Chad and the boys sitting at the table swapping stories and sipping the last of their breakfast beverages. Steve gave a sigh of content when Ryan and Chris burst into another fit of tinkling laughter. Besides laughing, Ryan hadn't actually talked yet, which was fine. Steve wanted him to be comfortable and come into it in his own time.

Steve had spent day two showing everybody the tower, and exploring the floors with them. A lot of it was Research and Development, but Steve tried to show them as much interesting stuff as he possibly could, even going out onto the quinjet platform to show them the spectacular view of the city. Even though the once picturesque building and streets were crumbling, it was still an amazing view. The kids enjoyed it, anyway.

On day three, Steve listened quietly as Chad had a heart-to-heart chat with Ryan and Chris in their room. He knew he shouldn't of have been listening, but he found himself finding more reasons to walk past their door and strain to listen for words. He could make out Chad's soft accent, Chris's sad words, it sounded like they were talking about the boy's parents. Steve left when he heard the names Nathaniel and Aniyah. If Chad was talking about his family with the two boys in soft, hushed voices, then he obviously didn't want Steve listening in.

They wandered into the theatre room a little while later, settling down on the comfortable white couch where Steve was busy watching something from Bruce's many nature documentaries and writing in his journal. He was just finishing off a quick sketch of the three boys standing on the quinjet landing pad, gazing out at the city.

"You always write in that thing. What is it? What do you write about?" Chad asked, leaning forward a little to get a glimpse of the scribbled writing and detailed-looking sketch he could see on the smudged pages.

Steve snapped the book shut, tucking his pen into his pocket and settling the journal in his lap. "I like to keep track of the days, what's happened, what I've discovered, things that I found interesting." He gave a wary glance at Chad, who was busy staring at his hand.

"Needless to say, I've filled up a fair few pages since you've arrived." Steve muttered, shifting his hand out of view.

Chad gave him a withering look, and turned his interest toward the two boys nestled in an armchair a little to the left. They're eyes were glued to the screen, where a fox was busy rolling in leaves and peeing on trees. At least it wasn't busy doing what Steve had seen it do earlier. That was about the time he decided to focus a little more on his sketches instead of the documentary.

"Can I have a look at it then?" Chad asked, giving Steve the most innocent look he had ever seen on the teen's face. Steve hesitated, thinking about everything he has written in there. There was some personal stuff, his thoughts, his feelings, his sketches.

Steve sighed. "I'll show you some of the sketches, but please don't read anything. There's some stuff in there that I wouldn't want you reading, you know… personal stuff."

Chad nodded, and scooted over closer to Steve. The soldier held onto the journal and flicked through the pages, trying his best to cover the majority of the writing with his large hands. Chad's eyebrows rose with every picture, sometimes whistling or stopping Steve's hand from turning the page so he could look at a drawing for a little longer.

"Is that me!?" Chad half-shouted when they reached Steve's previous entry about the post office. "You drew me wearing that ugly coat? Dude! That's almost as bad as taking a photo of me in it!" Chad groaned and made a grab for the book, just missing as Steve yanked it out of reach. Steve heard giggling behind him, and turned around to catch a glimpse of Ryan and Chris as they ducked down behind the couch, out of view.

Steve laughed at their antics, watching them scurry back around the couch and stand in front of the TV. "Could we see the drawing again please Mr. Steve?" Steve grinned at Chad, and opened up the book, showing them the drawing of Chad in the huge fluffy coat he had found in one of the packages. Chad just sat on the couch scowling while the boys giggled.

"Ok, I think we've got a look." Chris said, still giggling.

Steve smiled at him and brought the book back to his chest and set it in his lap. He realised that his pen had gone missing, and sighed. Steve got up and began to lift up the pristine white couch cushions, trying to find the bulky black writing utensil. He found it at the same time that Chad gave a shout of surprise, and Steve's head snapped up.

He whipped around to see Ryan concentrating intently, Chris smiling broadly, Chad looking horrified, and …. _another_ Chad standing between the two boys, smiling and wearing a very familiar looking white fluffy coat, with a soft glowing blue aura surrounding him. Steve's jaw almost dropped to the floor. Chris spoke up before anyone could ask questions.

"Ryan could do this ever since we got better from the sickness. He sees a picture, and he makes them real! Dad… he called it a hol.. a holo.."

"A hologram. A three dimensional hologram." Chad muttered, not taking his eyes off of his replica.

Steve squinted, and noticed the blue portion of Ryan's eyes was glowing brightly, the exact same colour that was surrounding the hologram. ' _So that's why his eye is like that.'_ Steve realised.

Chad gasped when the holographic version of himself waved, and took a step forward. Steve felt very nervous, and was trying his best not to freak out. He calmed down a little when the soldier reminded himself that these were kids, and superhuman or not, they were just having a little fun.

"S-so what can _you_ do Chris?" Steve asked, keeping a cautious eye on Chad as he stepped forward and waved his hand through the hologram's abdomen.

Chris's grin only broadened. "I'll show you, but it won't last very long. It makes us both tired." Steve nodded, noting the sheen of sweat just beginning to form on Ryan's forehead.

The golden streak in the older boy's strange eye glowed bright, and the hologram in front of him went still, the golden light intertwining with its blue counterpart, making it whole. Chad delicately poked the arm of the replica of himself and jumped back with a strangled yelp.

"I-It's real! It's freaking real!"

Steve was just about to warn Chad about the use of inappropriate language when both of the boys simultaneously began to sway. The hologram lost its density and flickered for a second before disappearing entirely. Steve lunged forward and caught them both the boys as they fell, both knocked out cold.

Steve picked them both up, gently trying to balance them both in his arms. Their weight was no problem for the super soldier; it was the hanging limbs and rolling heads that made it difficult. Eventually he managed to have them both sitting on his forearms with their heads resting on his shoulder. Steve sighed, making a mental note to never let them do that again for fear of aging him another seven decades.

He stood quietly in the elevator with Chad as the two boys breathed softly, their mouths hanging open. Steve quickly made it to their room, with Chad having to jog to keep up with his long strides, and shouldered open their door. Steve set them down gently in the double bed, with Chad helping him tucking them in, and left the room.

Chad muttered a goodnight and disappeared into his room, and Steve walked through his doorway and flopped down onto his overly-soft bed. _'So they can make holographic images and make them come to life, but it saps their energy and makes them faint. Great.'_ Steve thought to himself.

His life was getting crazier by the second, how the hell was he going to cope? He felt awful that the boys had fainted, and hoped to god that they would wake up and be completely fine in the morning. Steve took a deep breath and calmed himself. He really hoped that they would be feeling ok when Thor arrived.

* * *

 **So, how'd you like it? Good, bad, sad, funny, tell me how you felt! Tell me if you liked it or not, parts that you liked or hated, how you feel about the boy's new powers, all that jazz. I hope you enjoyed, and please don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the wait, I promise more regular updates will be coming! Enjoy, and don't forget to review!**

* * *

"Sir, wake up sir!."

"Hungh?" Came the croaky unintelligible response from the captain, his words muffled into the mattress before he rolled over and stared at the roof.

"I feel obliged to inform you that Chad, Ryan and Chris are all awake and alert. They are mingling on the dining room floor."

Steve rubbed his eyes blearily as he processed the words of the AI who woke him up. As soon as he registered that the kids were, in fact, awake, he sprang onto his feet, hastily replacing his warm pyjama clothes for a pair of casual blue slacks and a long sleeved olive green cotton sweatshirt that hugged his muscled figure, grabbing his shield on the way out.

Bleary eyed and a little frantic, the concerned soldier rushed down the hall and into the waiting elevator, which took him to the dining room floor without having to utter a single word. He drummed his fingers against the vibranium of his shield impatiently, annoyed by the delay of the elevator.

The soldier was considering wrenching the doors open himself and finding another way to the dining room, but luckily for his, the metal box stopped and released the pacing man from its confines. Steve rushed into the dining room, looking frantically around for any of the three kids.

They were nowhere in sight. This made Steve panic even more, as he rushed around the kitchen, opening up all of the cupboards, pulling out anything that might block his view or that a small child could hide behind, checking under the table, chairs, benches, even in the fridge. They were nowhere to be found. His keen hearing caught a faint yell from a floor up above him, and Steve rushed back into the elevator.

"Jarvis, take me to whatever floor that yell just came from."

"Yes sir."

* * *

Steve found himself in Natasha's Room, only a floor above his and three above Thor's, which made it floor forty-five. He had to swallow the bile rising in his throat, out of all of the floors dedicated to the Avenger's team's personal living, Natasha's was most-likely the dangerous. She had weapons haphazardly strewn about the place, ranging all the way from ever-favoured knives, to disassembled guns, to tasers that could take down a bull-elephant, even a specially designed staff with an elongated blade at the end that always sat gathering dust in the corner in her private bathroom, more so a decoration than anything else.

Not to mention the perfectly hidden weapons shoved into every possible nook and cranny the damned woman could find. Steve had admired her dedication and cleverness, but now all he saw was a horror house in waiting. Steve gripped his shield even harder, so hard that he might've left dents in it if it was made from any normal metal. He had to get there as quickly as possible.

"Jarvis, are they still in here?" The soldier asked frantically, scanning the room for any signs of disturbance. The bed wade unmade, the patterned rug was folded over itself in places, and the staff now sat leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom, not _in_ the bathroom, where Steve knew it had been before. Not only that, but the bed unmade. Steve was bored and feeling bored one day, so he went and made all of the beds on every floor, something that Clint would probably scoff at, and give Tony a little more evidence towards his Captain Goody-Two Shoes theory.

"Jarvis, where are they now!" Steve half yelled.

"There seems to be some kind of struggle on your personal floor Steve, in the training room."

"Right, Jarvis. Lock down all potential threats and dangers in that room, anything that could harm them. Lock the doors and keep them in there. Get the elevator ready for me to go there."

Steve rushed back down the wide hallway filled with different kinds of beautiful paintings and decorations that he usually loved to admire, but right now, paid no attention to. He was feeling relieved that he had found a solution to keeping them all in one place, and aside from all of his fear and worry and panic, he was actually very curious to see exactly where they had been and what exactly they were doing, and _how the hell_ they had jumped between floors so quickly.

After only a minute of impatient foot tapping and pacing around the elevator, Steve finally rushed through his hallway, all the way down to the grey steel doors of his training room, hastily muttering the lockdown override code to Jarvis, who let him in.

Steve actually had to take a minute to process what exactly what going on. Chad was running around barefoot on the ceiling, trying to peel off the two boys clinging onto him for dear life and screaming with pure joy. He could see that Chad didn't want to just _drop_ them; he was trying to grab their hands so he could walk over to the wall and drop them down, or at least drop them onto the balcony. _'God, how did they get so high?"_

Since it was a training room, it needed a relatively high ceiling to cope with Steve's harsh training regimes and workouts. Tony had specially designed targets to drop down from the ceiling, or to holographically project an image for him to attack. The solder needed a wide space, so that's what he was provided with, a ceiling so high that it took up part of Natasha's floor. And all three of the kids were up there.

Chris had managed to climb up Chad's upside down body and cling onto his leg, while Ryan was holding onto Chad's arm in a death grip. Chad looked terrified, making small sparks jump off of his shoulders.

Steve immediately started yelling instructions to Jarvis. "Open up the floor; move the mats directly beneath them, do it as quickly as possible." Jarvis obeyed, and the line in the concrete opened with a mechanical whir, revealing specially designed mats designed to safely catch somebody jumping from the top of the empire state building. Amazingly, but not surprisingly, it took a challenge from Clint and less than a week for Tony Stark to come up with this revolutionary idea. It was supposed to be released for commercial sale a year after, but Ash hit, and it kind of abandoned everybody's minds. Thankfully though, Tony had managed to put them in all of the training rooms.

"Steve!" Chad yelled as Jarvis moved the mat into place. "I can't hold on!"

Steve panicked and glanced at the mat, which was still a good twenty feet away, and moving slowly toward them, controlled by the mechanics in the floor.

"Steve, you have to catch him! Get ready, he'll slip any second now!"

Steve didn't hesitate, and rushed forward, covering the distance in mere seconds, just in time too, because as soon as those words left Chad's mouth, Ryan slipped from his grasp fell, his gleeful laughter turning into screams. Steve made a split second decision, and dived into the air, using the strength of the super soldier serum to launch him forward and catch the young boy just as he hit the ground.

The mat came just in time, and if Steve had of had positioned himself better, he would've landed safely, but he didn't. So as he wrapped himself around the small boy in his arms, he braced for impact, and had the breath knocked out of him and saw stars as he hit the cold hard cement.

The soldier lay there for a few seconds, just as dazed as the six year-old in his arms, before Chad's strangled yell snapped him out of it and made Steve jump back onto his feet, still cradling a wide-eyed Ryan. With a quick glance at the boys in his arms, Steve set Ryan down and got back to the other little boy and the struggling-to-hold-on teen still attached to the roof.

"Steve! I'm pouring as much static as I can into my feet but I'm exhausted!"

"It's okay!" Steve shouted up at them, cupping his hands around his mouth and sparing a quick glance at the mat, which was now in the correct position for them to both land safely. "Chad! Chris has to drop down onto the mat! I know that it's a long drop but that mat is specially designed to catch people from big heights, so he'll land and still be perfectly fine! Can you hang on until he drops off? I don't want you two landing on each other and hurting yourselves!"

Steve saw Chad give a slight nod, and bend his neck forward at a ninety degree angle to look up at Chris, whose laughing face had now turned to one of pure terror, and was visibly shaking from his position on Chad's leg.

He heard Chad murmuring to the frightened young boy, telling him that he had to jump, and saw Chris shake his head I response. Chad groaned in something that sounded like annoyance and exhaustion, and made Steve worry even more. Chad was going to drop any second, the amount of energy he was using to keep his feet sticking to the steel beam must've been exhausting for the fourteen year old, and Steve found himself eyeing the sides on the walls, judging how long it would take him to climb them. Steve was not a fantastic climber, and would probably take a good few minutes to get up to where the boys were.

Ryan, who still hadn't said a word since he had come to the tower, clung to Steve's pants, his oddly coloured hazel and gold eyes shining with worry for his brother and Chad. "Chris, you have to jump down! Otherwise the both of you are going to fall and hurt yourselves, so you have to jump!"

"Sir, I must advise you that Mr. Od-" Chad gave a loud groan, now obviously in pain, both cutting Jarvis off and almost making Steve stamp his foot in frustration. He actually would've done so, if it weren't for the child clinging onto his leg. Huh. It looks like both him and Chad could relate rather well to the situation.

Chad tried to swing himself up and grasp the steel girder he was attached to, but due to Chris holding onto him and lack of flexibility, he wasn't able to, and flopped back into his upside-down position in defeat. Chris looked like he was about to cry, Steve looked like he was considering springing up there himself and attempting to coax the kid down, and Chad looked like he was about to pass out from both pain and exhaustion.

"Chris!" Steve yelled, completely exasperated. "You have to come down! I promise that it won't hurt, it'll be like landing on a fluffy pillow!"

Chris just shook his head and clung even tighter onto Chad's leg, making the teen clench his teeth together and let out a low hiss. Just as Steve was seriously about to reconsider climbing up there, when the doors to the room whooshed open, revealing a battle-ready Thor, a deadly-looking Natasha and (much to his surprise) a wild-eyed Clint, who all, in their own different way, looked ready to kick some ass if they needed to.

"Steve! Jarvis has told us you needed our urgent assistance! What is the problem!" Thor boomed, his voice as loud as the thunder he summons.

Everybody turned in surprise at the sudden intrusion, simultaneously causing Chris to drop from the ceiling in shock, letting out an ear-splitting scream as he went, and landed safely with a minor bounce, quickly scrambling off of the mat to join his brother. Chad sighed in relief upon seeing Chris clamber off the mat, and silently dropped down, landing safely on his back with a slight 'oof', but not getting up.

Steve shot a half surprised, half worried glance at his friends, before hurrying over to the teen, who was staring blankly at the ceiling he had just fell from. "Chad!" Steve said, kneeling down on the mat beside him and shaking his shoulder. "Chad are you ok? Talk to me!"

Chad mumbled to himself before staring in mild surprise over the soldier's shoulder. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Just a little dizzy is all, need to lie down for a moment." He muttered, his slight accent sounding much more prominent mixed with his muttered words.

Steve turned to see what in the world the teen was still staring at over his shoulder, and knocked heads with Clint, who cursed and rubbed the spot where Steve's forehead had made contact with his. Thor and Natasha were there too, looking amused at Clint's injury, curious at the boy in front of them and worried all at the same time, not to mention a little confusion thrown in with the whole mix.

"What would we do without you Jarvis?" Steve sighed, relieved that the AI had basically taken care of the situation, and inadvertently solved the problem.

"I'm always happy to help, sir." Came the reply from the speakers in the room. Steve gave a watery smile before walking past his fellow Avengers and over to the two stunned boys, standing side-by-side and gaping openly at the three other adults in the room.

"Hey, boys, we'll talk about what just happened later, but for right now, I want to introduce you to a few people. These are some of my dearest friends, There's Thor," Steve said in a calming voice, pointing at the hammer wielding thunder god, who had puffed out his chest when the boy's gazes turned toward him.

"There's Clint, aka Hawkeye, and Natasha aka-"

"The Black Widow." Ryan breathed out, starling Steve and Chris. Even Chad lifted his head momentarily to stare at the young boy in confusion.

"Did Ryan just talk? Hell yeah!" The teen shouted, pumping his fist in the air before letting his head fall back down onto the mat with a huff.

Steve turned to the confused faces of his team members and smiled sheepishly. "It, uh, looks like I have some explaining to do."

* * *

"Wait, so let me get this straight. You actually took Tony's advice?" Clint asked around a mouthful of food, completely dumbfounded with the idea that Steve had listened to Tony and taken his advice, not that fact he was illegally harbouring superhuman kids in the Avengers Tower.

Steve eyed his friend warily over the lid of his mug as he took a long silent sip of tea. Since he had left the training room about fifteen minutes ago with Natasha, Thor, Clint, Chad, Chris and Ryan, the questions had not stopped. They had continued when Steve prepared breakfast for the kids and Clint (Natasha and Thor had already eaten before they'd left), carried on when Steve had prepared a pot of tea, and didn't show any sign of stopping now that everybody was seated around the table.

Steve sighed, placing the delicate china back on the coaster and ran a hand through his hair. Chad was seated next to Clint with Steve on his other side, and was resting his head in his hands, his eyes slightly drooping due to the amount of energy he had exerted before, but was trying his hardest not to fall asleep in the presence of the other Avengers. Ryan was seated next to Natasha, who wouldn't stop staring at her. Who knew that the quiet little kid could be a real chatterbox when he wanted to, asking the Black Widow dozen of questions and playing small games such as thumb wrestling and paper scissors rock, all for the fun of it. Steve didn't worry about them, seeing that Natasha delighted in it.

Next to Ryan was Chris, and on the other side of Chris was Thor, who had been boasting about some grand adventure in the mountains of a faraway realm purely to entertain the star-struck child. Everybody's attention focused on Steve when Clint asked that question though, making the soldier nervously clear his throat.

"Well, uh, yeah. I don't see why that's such a surprise, really. I mean, I know that I used to really resent some of Tony's ideas in the past, but it's not like I rejected _all_ of his advice."

Clint gave him a deadpan look and wolfed down another forkful of the syrupy Asgardian fruit salad. Chad glanced at him and smiled slightly, a wistful look in his eye as he observed the archer's antics.

"Are you talking about Iron Man? What advice did he give you?" Chris asked, his attention torn between ogling Thor's hammer and his interest in the conversation at hand.

Steve thought about his answer very carefully. He didn't want to say anything to upset them, didn't want the kids to think that he didn't want them there, because he _did,_ even after this morning's misadventures, he loved having them all there, and was even planning to take in more kids as soon as everything settled in the tower.

"Well, uh, basically I didn't have anybody with me in the tower, and I was living all by myself, so Tony, ah, _Iron Man,_ suggested that I get somebody to, ah, move into the tower, so I'd have somebody to talk to." He finished lamely, causing Chad to roll his eyes a little.

"We're those people, aren't we Steve? It's good, because we like talking to you and Chad. Chad makes funny jokes and you tell good stories." Ryan said, making Chris nod his head eagerly.

Natasha smiled warmly across the table over at Steve, and Thor gave a hearty laugh, causing Steve to give a sheepish smile and take a sudden interest in inspecting the complicated patterns across the porcelain of the tea cup.

"Hey, boys, do you want me to put a movie on for you both to watch?" Steve asked, seeing that both of the brothers had finished their breakfast and were poking each other on the shoulder, getting rougher with the little game by the second.

"Yeah! Can Thor come with us? What's _your_ favourite movie Thor? I'm sure that Jarvis has it! Jarvis has every movie, don't you Jarvis?"

"My movie library is very vast, and you are most welcome to use it, Chris." Jarvis politely replied to the exuberant young child.

"Yes, I'm sure that Thor would love to join you, wouldn't you Thor?" Steve asked the demi-god, who nodded vigorously.

"It has been a long time since I have watched an entertaining form of midgardian media, it will be most enjoyable!"

"Good then, take the boys down to the media room and get started, we'll probably end up joining you."

Thor nodded, striding down the hall into the waiting elevator with the brothers hot on his heels. Faint laughter could be heard as the trio disappeared into the elevator and to the media room.

"They're amazing Steve, do their eyes have something to do with their powers? And talk about powers, you have some special gifts yourself Mr, don't you?" Natasha said, inclining her head to where Chad was still a little bleary-eyed, but looked to be more alert than he was a few minutes ago.

The teen's head snapped up, meeting Natasha's cool gaze and clearing his throat. "Uh yeah. Ever I got better, I've been able to climb walls due to my ability to manipulate static electricity."

Clint's eyebrows furrowed, and Steve quickly intervened with an explanation. "Remember that time when Tony had that trampoline installed in your training room, and you told Thor to roll around on it and it made his hair stick to the surface?"

Clint thought for a moment before grinning and nodding. "Well, it's a lot like that, but Chad here manipulates it so that instead of making his hair stick to things, it makes him stick to things." Steve explained, looking to Chad for conformation."

"Like if you rub a balloon on your head and the hair sticks to it." The teen confirmed.

Clint let out a grunt of confirmation, finishing off of the last of his food. Steve saw Chad concentrating very carefully on Clint's shoulder, much as the teen had done to Steve on multiple occasions.

Steve moved a hand to cover his mouth, looking at Natasha and removing his hand to very quickly mouth 'watch this' at her before returning to over his lips to smother his smile. The red-headed assassin flicked her eyes over to Clint and Chad in confusion but looked on anyway. Chad was still concentrating, taking longer than usual do to his energy drain. Clint, upon noticing that everybody was staring at him, looked around and swallowed the last of his food.

"What are you- AHH! What the hell was that!" The archer asked, leaping out of chair so quickly that it toppled over and clattered to the floor.

Steve let loose the laughter bubbling behind his hands, joining Natasha in her fit of guffaws in seeing Clint's obvious distress.

"He-he can also z-zap things!" Steve breathed out, trying to recover. The look on Clint's face had been too funny, and it was rare to catch the man so off guard. Clint's gave Steve and Natasha a dirty look, before picking up his fallen chair and moving to sit over next to Natasha.

"I'll admit kid, that's pretty cool. It also explains why you were hanging upside down when we first saw you, which is even cooler. Do me a favour next time and don't test it out on me, ok? That hurt."

Steve, Natasha and Chad each rolled their eyes in unison, before Steve posed the question he had been craving an answer for ever since he woke up.

"Speaking of hanging down, what _exactly_ were you guys doing running around the tower and hanging upside down in the training room?"

"Well, the boys knocked on my door, and then ran off. I found them in the media room, and chased them almost _everywhere,_ until they finally settled in the dining room for a few minutes. I was about to get them breakfast and wake you up when they took off again. They had found another elevator, and we ended up in somebody's room, before they found _yet another_ elevator and took off again. I found them in the training room, thanks to Jarvis, and get this; they were literally freaking _dangling_ from the roof. There was this weird platform thing that was lowering back into the floor just as I got there, they must've set it off somehow and climbed on. Anyway, I was halfway through climbing up the wall when the doors shut, locking us in. I got up there, and they started laughing and climbing all over me, they thought it was a game! Chris was climbing my torso when he kneed me in a very… unfortunate place, making me bring my legs up to my chest, because damn, _it hurt._ One of my hands slipped so I stuck my feet up there and hung upside down, which was probably the smartest thing I could've done, to be honest, because my hands were beginning to cramp. A minute later you came in!"

Natasha was smiling again, making Steve feel like snapping at her. This was very unusual behaviour for the two boys, even though they had only been here for a few days, it greatly contrasted against their usually docile antics.

"Well, I guess that we'll have to start bringing a little more food to feed all of you then. Tony's gonna be stoked to hear that there's finally some little rascals running around the tower. Heck, he'll probably visit next week with Thor! Me and Tasha'll be at an archery contest Fandral is dragging us along to, but I'll try and see if Bruce will want to fly down for a visit. It's been, what, months since he last came here?"

Steve gave his friend a pointed look, joining Natasha in her scrutiny. "Clint, you know exactly why Bruce doesn't like traveling between dimensions." The redhead said flatly.

"I don't exactly like being jetted through the universe either, but I still come here and see Stevie just like you and Thor do!" Clint exclaimed, making wild gestures with his hands.

Steve frowned. "Clint, you don't have to visit just to see-"

"Shut it soldier. We're not having this conversation again. I may not like the method of travel, but I miss you Steve, we all do. So if you can't come to us, we'll come to you. The bifrost is always open to you in case you ever feel like visiting."

The soldier gave a small smile, silently thanking Clint for his nonchalance about the topic, especially while Chad was around. He really didn't want the young teen to know about the big blowout Steve had had with the rest of his team only a month after he decided to leave Asgard and stay at the tower. They had all wanted Steve to quit his 'foolish hope that the world will miraculously get better' and to 'please stop this Steve, we miss you.'

It had torn him apart to stay, especially because he really didn't want to. But he just couldn't sit around in Asgard drinking beer and feasting on chicken wings and knowing that the earth, _his home,_ suffered. Not that he held anything against all of the other Avengers, of course. They all had their reasons for leaving, mostly because they wanted to keep themselves, their family and their friends safe from Ash, and be able to live peacefully in Asgard amongst Thor and his kingdom.

Chad shot Steve a worried glance shortly before engaging in a complicated-sounding conversation about Chad's powers and the physics involved with it. Clint was busy listening in, and occasionally poking Natasha in the back to make her squirm, or flicking miscellaneous pieces of food at Chad, then pretending nothing happened when the teen looked to see where'd it had come from.

Steve rolled his eyes, before clearing away the dishes and moving everybody from the dining room to the theatre room, where Thor, Ryan and Chris were happily settled on the large white sofa, their fixed attention on the enormous movie screen, watching a movie that contained a white-haired boy that had magical ice powers.

"So, what did we decide on guys?" Steve asked.

"Rise of the Guardians." Thor answered without taking his attention off of the screen.

Steve nodded slowly, vaguely recalling the movie title from somewhere, and settled down next to Chad, with Ryan on his other side and relished in the moment where everybody laughed at one of the antics of the whimsical characters. Things were getting better, it wasn't so lonely anymore. He had his twisted little version of a family, and whether he knew it or not, he already loved them just an older brother would, and he knew, that he would do anything to keep them safe, especially in a world like this.

* * *

The kids and the Avengers were halfway through their third movie, not showing any sign of relenting any time soon. They were all quite enjoying themselves actually, and Natasha, Thor and Clint had all promised to stay for dinner, much to everybody's delight.

Steve was in the middle of updating his journal, keeping a wary eye on the two boys, who kept trying to showcase their powers and show off to the other Avengers. They weren't helping much, secretly encouraging them to make little holographic objects and move them about the room. So far, Steve had caught them making a balloon, an arrow, and a small little man jumping on an even small trampoline no bigger than the size of Steve's palm.

"Clint, don't you even think about it, I see what you're doing over there." Steve said warningly to the assassin who was slowly but surely scooting his way over to the boys in an attempt to whisper another request in their ears.

Clint frowned and stayed where he was, making Chad give a slight giggle. Steve returned his focus back to the current movie they were watching, a move about aliens and secret government organisations. The irony was getting better by the second, and Steve felt himself be drawn in by the humour and action of it all.

A flash to Steve's right alerted him that the boys were up to no good again. "Natasha! Leave them alone, I don't want them passing out again for gosh sake!"

The boys only pouted at him as Natasha moved away. Steve was about to suggest another snack break, when his super senses picked up shouts from outside. Steve just wanted to ignore and get on with the movie, but his conscience and curiosity came knocking, and the soldier found himself standing up and wandering over to the barred window that Chad had once snuck into the tower through, and peered outside.

Uh oh. This didn't look good. There must've been five or six scruffy looking men, between the ages of twenty-five and forty, and they were circling around something.

" _What the hell are they doing?"_ Steve wondered. Clint, curious as ever, got up from the couch and wandered over, nudging Steve over a little so he could see what was going on.

The question Steve was about to ask Jarvis slipped from his tongue when the youngest-looking man pumped his arms toward the middle of the circle the rest of his gang had created, blowing somebody back. A girl, by the looks of it, leaving a smaller girl in the middle of the circle. The smaller girl began to scream, and Steve made a move.

Grabbing his shield from where it had been resting against the leg of the dining room table, he bolted out of the room and into the elevator. "Clint, Natasha, come with me! Thor, stay here with the boys!" Steve instructed.

Chad looked like he was about to argue, but thought better of it and rushed over to the window to see for himself what was happening.

The three avengers weren't exactly geared up, with Steve in his casual slacks and t-shirt, Natasha in traditional Asgardian robes and Clint in baggy dress pants and a drooping tunic. Luckily, they stopped very quickly at Natasha's old room to let the assassins collect a few weapons.

Clint chose a small handgun and knife, while Natasha rushed into her private bathroom and grabbed the personalised staff that Tony had made for her a while ago, much to his surprise. They had no time to discuss a plan as the elevator dropped down to the lobby, releasing the three Avengers so they could rush out into the street.

Steve got there just in time, as the man who was blowing the girls away (quite literally) brought his hands up for another attempt at his target. The solder threw the vibranium disk, knocking the attacker out cold. Steve guessed that the group of men were a gang of some kind, and that they had managed to recruit an adult with powers, which was a rarity to find nowadays.

The rest of the gang looked up in surprise, staring in stunned silence at the snarling trio of Avengers.

"I don't freaking believe it!" One muttered.

"Did we really have to do this in front of the god damned Avengers Tower?" Another exclaimed.

"Guys we should-"

"Get the hell out of here, before we kick your ass." Natasha growled, her voice low and threatening.

The others took a quick look at their fallen team mate before backing away, but that wasn't the end of it. The girl who had gotten blown back before was now up on her feet, and _boy,_ did she look mad. Her fiery red hair streamed behind her as she ran, every step active with the intent of doing damage.

First, she was twenty feet away, then she was ten feet away, then she was punching one of the older men straight in the nose, only to disappear again and reappear behind another man, successfully kicking his knees out from underneath him.

The girl gave a huff of satisfaction, before disappearing _again,_ this time out of Steve's sight. The soldier groaned, rubbing his hand through his sandy blonde locks. " _More superhuman kids? I was just getting used to the last pair."_

But overwhelmed or not, these girls were in distress, and Steve had had enough of denying people in need, it was something he vowed to never do again, and made himself vow to give people a second chance instead of hiding away like a coward. If they needed help, he was damned-well going to help them.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Sorry ofr the late update, truly, but I promise that I've got a schedule now. Since I've got two stories going on, I'm typing 1000 words a day, for each story. So I'll type 1000 for one, then the next day, 1000 for the other, get it? I hoped you liked the introduction of the new characters, I'm sure there's a certain someone out there who did! Are things moving a little too fast for you? I hope not, and I just wanted to say that these new charcters we just saw will be the last for a while, while everything settles down, then there'll be some major things going on. Is there anything you want to see written, anything you want to see? Tell me all about it in one of the fantastic reviews you guys have been leaving, you guys are truly amazing!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Enjoy the scheduled update, I hope you enjoyed the introduction of the girls in the last chapter, you'll find out a lot more about them in this one, Don't forget to review, but most importantly, enjoy!**

* * *

Delana York was having a hell of a bad day. Her early morning had started off with fleeing from a strange storm and a bright flash of light gathered around the top of the Avengers Tower, as she was frightened by the prospect of a terrorist attack. Her and her younger sister, trying to find a safe place to hide had ran straight into the 'top secret' hideout of one the ruined Manhattan's most notorious street gangs, the 'Yin' as they called themselves, and had been gagged and hog tied for over three hours, stuffed into mouldy old potato sacks and stowed away in a cockroach-infested closet. Her fury had bubbled over in the first hour, screaming and kicking and trying to fight her way out, listening to her younger sister's silent sobs. Arielle was only nine years old, she shouldn't have to be subjected this kind of hell, and she had wanted to get her sister _out of there,_ before something even worse happened. The only response she had gotten were small snickers from their guards playing some kind of card game a few metres away.

The gang members had thought it a rather splendid idea to present the superhuman sisters to their boss as a 'gift', but they hadn't expected Delana to come out, untied and positively murderous, with hell's fury raging behind her, spitting fire and snapping her teeth (not literally, thank god). The boss, a young lanky man with scar tissue littering is features had been too startled to react. Delana had guessed that he might've had powers as well, judging by his age, but didn't keep him conscious long enough to find out. Her instincts were in overdrive, she had been seeing red, and without even realising it, the seventeen year old had taken out the other four fully grown men on her own, effectively freeing her and her younger sister.

She could've gotten them out of there fairly easily if she was able, but Delana hadn't quite mastered the art of teleporting with other people just quite yet. So far, she knew that she could teleport herself to any place that she has set foot on before, could take smaller things with her, like her clothes, backpacks, boots, miscellaneous pocket items and whatnot, which (embarrassingly enough) had taken her a little while to master the art of. There was only one time that she had tried to teleport her and her sister somewhere, and it had ended in her dear little Arielle being covered head to toe in minor burns and abrasions, and had only really travelled a few inches to the left. They hadn't been too bad, but it had rattled Delana enough to not use her powers for a few days, and be overcome with guilt until her nine year-old snapped and basically told her to get over it. Since then, even when Arielle insisted that they try again, she had never dared even touching her sister when she teleported.

Her sister, using her own power, had helped a little, much to her older sister's terror. The younger sibling had summoned a small dome around herself, and barrelled straight into an already semi-conscious man, knocking him onto the floor so that he hit his head and didn't make any move to get up. It made the older sibling work all the more harder to neutralise all of the other men in the room, and as soon as she was sure none of them were moving, they got the hell out of there.

They laid low for the rest of the day, travelling across town, weaving through abandoned alleyways, even letting Arielle rest for an hour or two while her sister kept a vigilant watch. It was mid-afternoon when they made their way back across town, trying to confuse whoever might be following them. The had ended up only a few blocks away from the Avengers Tower, which Delana had trying to avoid for the past few days. There were rumours beings whispered among the people of the streets that the Avengers _hadn't_ abandoned the Earth, that Captain America had been living there all this time, and had been taking kids off of the streets to train them for a 'superhuman' army that he was building to fight back against the terrorists and narrow-minded government of this ruined nation.

If that was the case, there was no way that Delana was letting her or her sister get anywhere near the monstrosity of a building. She was trying to stay away, but had needed to go through that particular part of town in order to retrace their steps in hopes of completely confusing anybody who might be following them. They had been followed before, and Arielle had been caught due to Delana's carelessness, so she wasn't taking any chances this time around.

The children were only a half a block away when a gang of burly-looking men stepped out, varying versions of their own sickening smirks upon their faces. Delana and Arielle's eyes had widened in sheer terror and had fled, their feet pounding on the trash littered pavement. They had turned sharp corners, cut through alleyways, went through abandoned buildings, tried every trick in the book in an attempt to lose their followers, but their efforts had come to no avail.

The six leering gang members, who looked like another variant of the Yin Gang, were always a few steps behind them, their sickening threat and feral laughter always floating behind the sisters as they fled. Arielle had tripped as they sprinted down the empty streets, making Delana come to a screeching halt and teleport back, slinging an arm over her shoulders in a desperate attempt to get her to stand, but the unhealthy angle of her left leg and her painful screams had forced Delana to stop.

Using her hands, she had instructed the nine year old to crouch down, put her hands over her head and bring up her force field, and don't stop or let it down until she told her to. Arielle had done as she was told, crouching down in the middle of the street and summoning a pulsating dome of energy around herself. Delana had squared her shoulders and looked towards the approaching men, standing over her sibling like a fierce guardian angel, pushing her flame red hair out of her face as it whipped about her, and twitching her fingers, ready for a fight.

"If you want her, you're gonna have get through me you sick bastards. Take a shot, I dare you." She had snarled as the male group members closed in and formed a tight circle around the duo, grinning like sick the madmen they were, or had become since the nation gone to hell. If they were caught, there was no possible good outcome to the situation. Once they were caught and in cages used to house kids with powers on the black market, there would be no way of getting out, no way of escaping, and no one coming to rescue them. They would either be sold on the black market, sent to the twisted reform schools or experimented on, or if they were lucky, killed quickly. There was no positive alternative. Delana may be able to escape, but she would rather die than leave her sister behind in the clutches of terrorists and the screwed up government.

It came as a shock when a younger man with light blonde hair, thin features and a dark shadow of stubble covering his jaw stepped forward, his grin more sickening and promised more danger than the older men, and a dark feeling settled in the pit of Delana's stomach just before she was blown off of her feet, tumbling far away from where her precious younger sister was crouched, sobbing softly.

Just as the rattled adolescent got to her feet, she felt the sickening dread wash through her when the man that had sent her flying brought his calloused hand over his head, ready to strike the pulsating force-field that her sister had summoned, when a glint of metal flashed through the air, striking him in the back of the head.

The man stood there for a few moments, unblinking, the evil smirk slipping from his slack features, before he fell forward, a little to the right of where Arielle was, vulnerable and exposed. As the man fell away, his attacker was revealed, and Delana's jaw almost dropped to the ground, as Black Widow, Hawkeye, and _freaking Captain America_ approached all approached on a dead sprint. They stopped in front of the now mortified group of men, their stances low and ready for action. Delana watched them as they spat out words, and the men backing off a little, before one of them, an older one wearing a tattered suede Jacket and scuffed boots peeled off, focusing his attention on her sister's defenceless form, still crouched in the street.

That was enough for Delana to make a move, feeling the familiar fire that fuelled her anger bubble up from the pit of her stomach and course throughout her veins, riling her up and preparing her for a viscous fight. The sick bastard had already gotten too close, and a twisted grin began to curve his features at the prospect of capturing the young child, most likely for profit or slavery. Delana broke into a dead sprint, teleporting as she went, and in mere seconds, she had gotten up underneath the chubby criminal and punched him in the jaw, smirking with sick satisfaction when she heard it crack and felt it pop out of place.

Before the man fell to the ground, let alone even processed what was going on, she appeared behind another unsuspecting male and kicked his rigid knees out from underneath him, huffing in satisfaction before she disappeared again.

She found herself a few inches away from a man who was already running to the spot she had last appeared and was knocked over, not ready for the brute force of the gang member's momentum as they collided. She was knocked back, and found herself sprawled out on the harsh bitumen road, her hands and elbows grazed to high hell with blood dripping down the side of her face, and another man standing over her, growling in frustration.

"You little bitch, you've already taken out too many of my team! I hope the slave market doesn't mind their stock a little beaten, because-"

"Go on, say more. I'm interested in hearing just what you had to say to the girl who I'm going to let kill you." A smooth voice said from behind the man's right shoulder.

The snarling man had found himself quietened as the smooth steel of the knife was pressed against his jugular, a slender arm tightening around his neck underneath his chin.

"That's what I thought." The Black Widow muttered, before sweeping his legs out from underneath him, kicking him in the temple as he fell, effectively knocking him out cold, and delivering another swift kick to the brute that had collided with the teen before, foiling his attempts at trying to get to his feet.

She gave Delana a wry grin, before looking down at her Asgardian garments. "I guess these aren't exactly what I'm used to fighting in, but they'll do, eh?" She asked the stunned girl who stood before her.

Delana quickly recovered merely scowled before teleporting away again. She had to find her sister, she had to get them _out of here right now._ There was no way that she was going to keep fighting these guys, especially as more of them came flooding out of a nearby alley, alerted by the sound of the fight. And there was certainly no way that she was going to stick around and help out, there was no way she and her sister were going to join some Avenger's army, and fight against the government or anything like that. Arielle had been through enough in the past three years, she didn't want her sister to suffer any more than she already has.

As Delana teleported to and fro, darting in between the plethora of advancing men and few women of the rest of the Yin gang, she was forced to stop in her tracks at what she was witnessing. Her sister, who had basically been a sitting duck in the midst of superhuman-children-thirsty men, was now looking about in wonder, her force-field flashing in and out, obviously becoming unstable as a result of too many hits. More and more advancing gang members were surrounding her small form, making the lump in Delana's throat become even bigger.

But there was Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America, standing over the child's vulnerable figure, like an ass-kicking guardian angel, defending Arielle's exposed state with a flurry of punches, kicks, headbutts, and hits with his shield as he took out a single man in matters of seconds, the unconscious bodies piling at his feet. Delana could only stare in amazement at the sheer concentration and stubbornness that had slipped over the soldier's features and in awe as he took a rather devastating blow to the temple, crouching over in pain for a moment, before dusting himself up, squaring his shoulders and meeting the enemy's gazes, all to protect the small girl beneath him.

Realising that there was no way that she could simply stand around and gawk, Delana got in on the action. She weaved about the snarling mass, trying to avoid the archer equipped with only small knives who kept trying to get closer to her, and the soldier who was shooting her concerned stares in between knocking heads together.

The seventeen year-old ducked under a sloppy punch, coming back around to knee her attacker in the back, and then in the temple as they fell forward. She took a hit to the chest, and was winded for a moment as a dark-haired woman leered over her. From her position on the ground, Delana saw the woman grinning down at her with pure enjoyment.

Taking a deep breath and flicking the ember locks out of her face, Delana sprang forward, knocking the startled woman off of her feet. She found herself in a wrestling match on the ground, desperately throwing hits to try to knock her attacker out and barely avoiding blows by mere tenths of inches.

Finally, after what felt like way to long and too much energy wasted, the teen managed to wedge her feet underneath the bony woman and launch her in the opposite direction. Just as both Delana and the snarling woman managed to get to their feet, a piece of rubble came flying out of nowhere and hit the gang member square in the middle of the eyes, making her face go slack and her eyes roll back into her head before she collapsed, knocked out cold.

The red-headed teen whipped her head around behind, to see a smug-looking Clint Barton standing about ten feet away, puffing his chest out proudly as he back-handed a lanky man and shot her a small smirk.

Darting between flying fists and swinging legs, the girl made her way over to where Captain America was just finishing up with the group of thugs that had been attacking him. Ignoring the bewildered stare of the national icon, Delana rushed forward, reaching through a hole in the force field and tapping her sister gently on the shoulder. Arielle looked up, sighing in relief and brought down the shaking dome, before leaping up and wrapping her arms tight around her older sister's waist.

"Shhh, it's okay Ari, it's over now." She soothed, rubbing small circles into the nine years-old's back.

"Are you able to run?" Deleana pulled back and asked, using her hands and mouthing the words clearly, eyeing the two master assassins as they chased off the rest of the gang and strolled over where Captain America was standing, watching them warily.

A small nod was all it took for Delana to grab her sister's hand tightly and make a dash for it, the street-smart girl already planning her escape route. She had to get them out of here. There was no way they were joining an army, or fighting against the terrorists, they were getting the hell out of there, as quickly as possible.

* * *

Steve Rogers sighed with relief as the last thug dropped to the ground, quickly glancing down beneath him to where the small girl was crouched, shaking with terror, but still looking around with a curious eye.

As the older girl that he guessed must've been her older sister rushed over, the soldier stepped back allowing them space as they reunited. He heard Natasha sigh beside him and Clint grunt as they hugged each other in the street. He saw the older girl mouth something, and deciding that he didn't want to tune in on their private moment, Steve glanced at Clint, who was doing quite the opposite. His face was scrunched as he strained to capture a snippet of the words being whispered.

It happened very quickly, in the blink of an eye, the sisters took off, tearing down the road in an attempt to flee from the scene. "Wait! Just wait a minute! We want to talk to you!" Steve yelled out in surprise, dashing forward to try and catch up with the escaping duo.

It took him longer than he'd like to admit to catch up, despite his enhanced speed. These girls weren't only fast, they were _smart,_ always one step ahead of him as he desperately tried to keep them in view as the led him through the twisting alleyways of Manhattan. After a good ten minutes of chasing, Steve finally cornered them in the lobby of a an old hotel, probably one of the first victims in the first lot of raids that left the city in ruins all those years ago when Ash first struck the island of Manhattan.

Judging by the thick cobwebs on the broken glass and the animal droppings littering the floor, it had been like this for a while now. "What the hell do you want with us!" The fiery teen screamed, stepping out in front of her younger sister and bending her knees slightly.

"Please." Steve said, his deep tones low and soothing in an attempt to sound as non-threatening as possible. "I just want to talk. Please." He repeated.

The caution in the girl's eyes didn't fade, and the glare on her face didn't waver, but she didn't say no or make any move to flee again, although her eyes told that she as probably in the middle of calculating an escape route as they spoke.

Steve took a deep breath, hoping that Natasha Clint or the boys back in the tower weren't too worried and ran through a list of possible questions he could ask her.

"What's your name?" He finally asked, letting the soft words roll off of his tongue and briefly flicking her gaze to the red-blonde head that had poked out from behind it's sister, the younger child's face curious.

"What does it matter to you, just go away! We don't want you here!" She spat, making Steve cringe at the severity of her words.

Before Steve could open his mouth to form another soothing sentence, the younger girl stepped forward in front her sister, biting her nails and pressing close against her older sibling. Her deep cerulean ocean blue eyes were wide with a mix of curiosity and fear as she stared openly at the man in front her.

Her sister grunted in annoyance, trying to shove the younger girl back behind her, but the kid just refused to move, glancing up in distaste at her sister's over-protectiveness.

Steve focused his attention on her, hoping that if he could get the smaller sister to trust him, maybe the older one would follow suit. It was a stupid idea, but was worth a shot anyway.

"Hello there!" he cooed, softening his features and bringing up his voice an octave or two in an attempt to sound cheerful and welcoming. "What's your name?"

The older sister only sighed in annoyance and anger as the smaller girl squinted her eyes and stared at Steve, not saying anything and looking a little confused.

Maybe she didn't hear him? He decided to repeat the question.

"What's you-"

"She's deaf you over-muscled idiot. Without her hearing aid, your either going to have to sign the question or mouth your words better, because she won't understand what you're saying."

Steve stared in shock at what the red-headed teen had just revealed, taking a step back in surprise. The teen didn't like it at all, and she put her hands over her younger sibling's chest and pulled her close to her, deepening her scowl and shooting daggers over at Steve.

Steve took a few steps forward, keeping an eye on the older girl as he crouched down so he was balancing on the balls of his feet with his knees sticking out in front of him.

"What. Is. Your Name?" He mouthed, trying to make his lips mouth the words as clearly as possible.

The younger girl grinned in delight, finally understanding what the man was saying and tugged on her sister's shirt, looking up as the older girl looked down. The two seemed to have a waring conversation with their eyes, before the older sibling spoke.

"She's Arielle, I'm Delana. Now I'll repeat myself, what the hell do you want?"

Steve smiled slightly, glad that he had 'Delana' talking, but still confused on why she had such a thinly veiled fear in her eyes, like the soldier would lash out and bag them up if she let her guard down. He guessed, in a world like the one they had most-likely been forced to adapt to, that was what they were used to. Any stranger was a threat, and the threats were everywhere. It was a horrible feeling to have, one that Steve had been all too familiar with during the collapse of SHIELD a few years back.

The captain crinkled his nose as he noticed the animal waste he had unknowingly stepped through when he entered the building and turned towards the girls, making sure to mouth his words clearly and speak slowly.

"Why don't we take a walk, and we can talk. I promise I won't try and make you do anything that you don't want to do, and that you are free to go whenever you like when I'm done. Fifteen minutes, that's all I ask."

Delana, thinking over the offer, decided that fifteen minutes of her life wasted listening to somebody trying to convince her of something that she would never accept in a thousand lifetimes, wasn't too bad if they were free to go and leave at any time they wanted. It was only fifteen minutes. But then again, this guy was as superhero, and if he did go against his word, her and her sister wouldn't really have a choice in leaving.

With a huff of annoyance, Delana drew herself up to her full height, puffing out her chest and letting a severe expression slip over her features. "And what if we say no?"

"Well.." Steve said, fiddling with a loose string hanging off of the seam of his shirt. "Well then I guess that this won't be the last you see of me. I'll make it my personal mission to track you down every single day and try to talk to you, and won't stop until you listen." He said, lying through his teeth. It was a big bluff, one that Steve knew had a fifty-fifty chance of working, but when he saw the resigned slump of Delana's shoulders, he knew he had pulled it off.

Very slowly, the older teen nodded her head, and began to move away from the wall she was pressed against. Steve gestured broadly with his hands for her to leave first, ever the gentlemen, making Delana roll her eyes. This was going to be a hell of a conversation.

* * *

The super soldier, the red headed teen and the observant younger sister toddled down the street in comfortable silence. Delana didn't really want to talk to him, and Steve wanted her to settle down for a minute before he started speaking. After another minute, he finally broke the silence.

"So why didn't you want to talk to me? I thought that if we saved you from those guys, you would at least want to stay for a chat."

The seventeen year-old rolled her eyes, sighing with frustration and kicking a stray piece of rubble off of the littered sidewalk, sending it clattering onto the road. "That's not the way things work anymore, you know. Those guys could've gotten up at any second, they could've surprised you, or one of them could've had a gun on them and shot at us. I needed to get Arielle out of there as soon as possible. Plus, we have no intention of being part of any elaborate scheme or child army or whatever you're cooking up in that tower.

Steve stopped where he was, blinking in bewildered shock. "E-excuse me? _Elaborate scheme? Child army?!_ Just who do you think I am?" He asked, hating the fact that he sounded hurt, but something like that really cut him to the core. He worked him damned hardest to make sure Chad, Ryan and Chris were as comfortable and as happy as they could possibly be, without the pressures of the outside world having to weigh on their shoulders.

Delana stopped walking, finding Steve still standing a few feet behind he. Arielle tugged on her sleeve, wondering what was going on. She very quickly replied that she was finding out in sign language, before turning her attention back to the Captain, who looked a little like a kicked puppy.

"That's what everybody's been saying anyway. That you've got a whole armada of superhumans running around in the Avengers Tower, and that you've been training them to fight back against the terrorists. A pretty horrible thing to do if you ask me, doing exactly what the terrorists are _doing_ but claiming to be different. I don't want my sister to have any part in that, thank-you very much." Delana spoke, doubt creeping into her mind as she saw the absolute shock get stronger and stronger over Steve's face as she spoke.

The soldier sputtered, before regaining his composure and force his voice into a cool, low tone. "There are _three_ kids in the tower with me, the oldest is _fourteen._ I found one already inside the tower, and took the other two in after their parents were _murdered_ in front of their eyes by Hunters. There is no way that I would even _consider_ doing something like that. All I want to do is help people!" He spoke with a mild venom creeping into his voice, and the volume of his tones increasing and cracking towards the end of his last sentence.

Delana was torn as the facts tugged at the small bit of doubt in her mind, expanding into bewildered belief. "You.. you're saying that you're helping us? The superhumans? And you're not training them or anything?"

Steve straightened and ran a hand through his hair. "No, of course not! I only want to make a difference, I promise you."

There was silence for a full minute as Delana simply stared at him, boring her eyes into his, trying decipher the truth. She found only pure honesty shining through his blue orbs, and gave a guilty sigh.

"I… I'm sorry. It's just what's flying around on the street, you know?" She said, giving a small smile and ducking her head.

Steve sighed. "Yeah, I wasn't aware it was so bad, things like that is not what I would ever have in mind, I swear."

Delana nodded, and thought of another question to ask. "So, if you don't want me and Arielle to join your superhuman army, what the hell do you want?"

"I-"

"STEVE! There you are! We were just about to scope the sewer systems to try and find you!" Clint huffed, jogging up with Natasha hot on his heels to join the soldier. "What's up?" He added, making Natasha roll her eyes and dig her elbow into his ribs.

"Hey guys, glad you found me. I was just about to ask these two if they would like to join us in the Avengers Tower for dinner, so we can talk and smooth a few things over." He said, giving a small smirk at Delana, whose mouth was now hanging open. As if on cue, her stomach growled, making her realise that it had been days since she'd eaten, preferring that Arielle was content until she ate, therefore usually only devouring small morsels at a time.

Her throat had gone dry, but she managed to utter a small 'yes', causing Clint to clap his hands together and Steve to give them both a brilliant smile. After getting down on one knee and taking a minute to explain relay the conversation to Arielle, Delana grabbed her excited sibling and caught up with the other three Avengers who had walked forward a little and were waiting for them both ten feet away.

Delana was waiting for the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach to tell her that this felt wrong, or for them all to turn around and bag her up, but found that it wasn't the case. Instead, she rolled her eyes along with the Black Widow at Hawkeye's crude jokes, and laughed along with Steve as the female assassin made fun of him. She didn't know what fate had in store for her just yet, but surprisingly enough, Delana found herself rather eager to find out.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed the reading about the two girls as much has I enjoyed writing about them! Don't worry, there'll be more of the other kids in the next chapter, a little more is found out, a little more is revealed etc. I feel so connected to this story, and am really liking the way it's going, and was wondering if anybody would happen to be interested in doing a cover for Shield For The Superhuman? Just a thought for anybody who is super amazing and also happens to be a super amazing artist as well. Thank you to everybody who reviewed, it means so much to me! I tend to reply to the majority of the reviews I get, so If you're not comfortable with being replied to or just don't think it's necessary, just let me know or put a little star (*) at the end so I know, okay? That's all for now, I hope you enjoyed, please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

***deep breath* Hey guys, I just wanted to let you know that I am the sorriest sore person on the continent right now, because I made you guys wait like two months for this chapter. All I've got to say is that I haven't been feeling my best for the past few months, and fully neglected my writing schedule, among other things. I don't know if I'll have any time to write the next chapter for a while, but this one was half finished so I sat myself down and finished it for you guys, I truly hope you like it. (Maybe a review will get my motivation back, pretty please?)**

* * *

"It's kind of ugly isn't it?" Delana said, craning her neck up to try and see the height of the Avengers Tower.

Steve sighed beside her, although the small smile tugging at his lips told her that he wasn't completely annoyed. She was prodding him, trying to see where his line could be drawn, what annoyed him and what didn't. Steve, of course, picked up on this straight away and remained calm and cool throughout a series of dry and poking comments as they all walked back.

"Believe it or not, Steve said almost the same thing. But I think he phrased it as 'that big ugly tower in New York?' and he said directly to Tony's face."

"Yeah!" Clint chimed in. "The look on Tony's face was priceless!"

Natasha snorted, shoving him in the side and rolling her eyes. "You weren't even there."

Clint twitched slightly, flinching away from the Black Widow's words, before he pouted. "Yeah, but I saw the tapes…"

"Wow! So you actually told him that his tower was ugly? That must've ruffled his feathers a little." Delana commented, peering at Steve with accusing eyes.

Steve merely smiled at her, trying to refrain from rolling his eyes at her dry comment. "Yes, it did, but we got over it and have been friends ever since."

"Even though he's fled to Asgard now?"

Steve gritted his teeth, feel his patience begin to thin. He didn't like it when people talked about the other Avengers like that. They were his friends, and the dozens of belittling reporters and annoyed News Channels did nothing but criticize the people that had saved their lives a hundred times over, for deserting the Earth when there was nothing they could do. It didn't sound as forceful as some of the other questions she'd asked, more curious than anything. "All of the Avengers live happily in Asgard with Thor and his family."

Natasha, sensing Steve's discomfort, leaned forward a little as they walked, catching Delana's attention. "Tell me Delana, if you had the choice to escape this world, would you?"

A little taken aback, Delana stumbled over her own feet. Of course she would have taken the offer, it's no wonder why the Avengers left so soon. She guessed she may have had a little resentment towards them for abandoning everybody they had once sworn to protect. But wait! There was somebody who had remained, and he was walking right beside her, scanning the darkening horizon for potential threats.

Steve turned and caught Delana's eye, giving her a wary smile before he looked over to Arielle and then over to Natasha and Clint. Very quickly, his face turned to one of confusion, then one of pure horror.

"Clint! Get inside, quickly! We don't want you to catch the disease, you might not survive!" Clint didn't look too fazed however, and only gave a lazy smile.

"Chill soldier, Tony and Bruce whipped up a shield that wards off the disease for almost 24-hours. Actually, it's the closest they've gotten to a cure."

An overwhelming sense of relief washed over Steve's face, making Delana smirk a little. It wasn't every day you get to see America's darling act as a mother hen over one of his team mates, and Delana found it quite amusing. In the posters, magazines, television interviews and what not, Captain America was a stony-faced hero who would gladly give his life for his country, always fought for freedom and justice, was generally quiet and let the others take over interviews, he didn't seem like the kind of person that really worried about people and found his life's joy in fighting and planning battle strategies.

As it was turning out, the media had only really scratched the surface of his persona. True, he was an excellent fighter and probably a skilled strategist, but all Delana could see right now was a big guy trying to calm himself down after receiving such a scare. And the way he constantly checked over everybody, checked for threats as they walked, and generally seemed to care a hell of a lot about two girls he only just met, well it made Delana a little less wary and a hell of a lot more curious.

Another minute of walking found the group of stragglers walking into the ruined lobby of the tower, with Steve letting everybody into the elevator before he squeezed himself in, muttering a number and sighing as the metal box took off. Arielle clutched tighter to her older sister's dirty pair of jeans, making Delana put a soothing arm around the anxious young red-head and pull her close to her, feeling a little edgy simply because her sister was edgy. She took a deep breath to calm herself, scowling a little when Natasha smirked at her from where she was wedged between Clint and Steve.

The elevator arrived at an open looking room with pristine-looking white couches, a television taller than both her and Arielle combined, and small touches of cream and light olive green that gave the room a settling feeling. Delana could see a door on the other side of the room and another to her left. In the midst of it all was a group of four. One burly blonde man, a dark-skinned kid a little younger looking than her, and two giggling young boys, most-likely brothers by their similar appearance and the way they sat leaning against each other, looking over one-another's shoulders occasionally.

The older boy from the duo was the one who noticed them first. He had unruly curly hair that was a deep chocolate brown-colour, and his most noticeable feature, was the startling streak of gold that was cut straight across his iris. Delana squinted, sighing in relief when she made out the small black dot in the very centre. The kid let out a shout of surprise, grabbing his brother by his arm and scurrying behind the burly blonde, who had shot to his feet when the kid had yelled.

"Steve, Natasha, Clint! How fare your battle? Was it worthy of your efforts? It must've been to be waged for such a lengthened period of time." He walked forward and clapped Steve on the shoulder, before glancing down and blinking in surprise.

Delana met his curious gaze with one of a fiery wariness. She wasn't going to let somebody so big intimidate her, even if he hadn't appeared threatening yet. Her gaze didn't waver from his, her stubborn gaze communicating a silent message. ' _Make a move and I won't hesitate to fight back.'_

After a few moments of seemingly the most intensely confusing staring contest either participant had ever engaged in, Thor broke the gaze by letting out a deep rumbling laugh. Delana blinked in confusion before backing up a little and hunching her back.

"She is skilled in spirit this one friend! Such a small thing, refused to back down when faced with a person twice her size! That is very admirable young maiden, but beware, it-"

'Who are you." Delana asked, trying her hardest to keep the growl out of her voice. This wasn't her domain, and obviously Steve knew this person, so she had to try to be nice. But it was hard when she felt her younger sister clutch her shirt as the man spoke, most-likely feeling the rumble of his voice as he spoke. To her sister, rumbles and vibrations meant explosions and danger, so if this guy didn't learn to lower his voice soon she would do her best to make sure he didn't speak at all.

"Hey!" A voice shouted from behind the mountain of a man, who looked a little taken aback at Delana's interruption of what was sure to be his version of a lecture.

"Don't be mean to Thor! He's nice and he tells good stories!"

"Yeah!" Another piped up, "Who do you think you are!"

Delana cringed, and hunched even lower, gently nudging her sister back into the elevator and slowly backing up. She didn't like feeling attacked like this, there were too many ways it could go wrong. She had just interrupted and had an intense stare-down with _Thor,_ the Norse god of thunder and lightning. Now there were two other kids getting closer and closer and- oh god, was that one _glowing?_

"Boys, that's enough. Back away and give these girls some space please."

"Girls? I thought there was only one of them." The dark-skinned teenager muttered from his position on the white recliner. He hadn't moved an inch from when Delana had originally observed him being, besides turning his head in their direction.

Delana rolled her eyes and let her defence drop a little seeing that both of the boys had backed off, even Thor had taken a few steps back. "Good, thank-you boys, that was very civil of you." Both of the boys grinned and gazed up at Steve with open adoration. It was obvious that both of these kids idolised the guy.

"Now, time for introductions." Steve said as the pair of assassins walked over to one of the couches and flopped down onto the soft-looking cushions, with Clint draping his legs over Natasha's.

"Girls," Steve said, crouching down and facing Arielle as she emerged from her place behind her older sister. "This is Thor, Chad," the man listed, mouthing the words clearly and pointing to each person as her said their name, "Ryan and Chris." He finished.

Delana turned and signed each letter everybody's name, also including Natasha and Clint, so that her sister nodded in understanding. They were all pretty simply spelt, so Delana hoped that she got them all right.

Steve waited until she was finished to start speaking again. "And everybody, this is Delana, and her younger sister Arielle. They are guests in the tower, and we are going to treat them as such, okay?"

Everybody, including Thor and Clint, nodded their heads obediently. Natasha smiled warmly from her position on the couch, before undoing the laces of Clint's boots. Clint grunted and gave her a small kick, which caused her lean over and elbow his shin, causing the archer to let out an annoyed grunt of pain.

Steve eyed the quickly escalating fight, and turned towards the kids and Thor, who were either looking at one another or watching Clint and Natasha fight like deadly, highly trained two year olds. "Alright everybody, who's hungry?"

If he heard Delana's sigh of relief, he didn't acknowledge it.

"Are you sure you don't want to stick around for the movie?" Clint asked, chewing on a piece of dehydrated fruit.

"It's been a long couple of days, and Arielle's wobbling on her feet. I think that we'll just go to bed." Delana replied, trying to smother the yawn that bubbled up in her throat.

Steve nodded, having already acknowledged the dark circles under the each girl's eyes. If Clint hadn't of spoken first, he would've already suggested that they got some sleep. "I'll walk you to your room, all the rooms are on my floor anyway. You're lucky, you got the last one." Steve joked, trying to lighten the mood. Arielle, who had been reading his lips, smiled brightly before bringing her hand up to smother a yawn.

After a brief ride in the elevator and a short walk down the hallway, they arrived at the door of the last empty guestroom, and Steve cleared his throat. "So uh, this is my floor, so don't, uh, wander around or anything. I'll give you two the tour tomorrow, if you need anything, Jarvis can help, I've already introduced you to him right?" Steve asked, the exhaustion he was feeling making him mumble a little.

"Yes, you did. We'll come down for breakfast tomorrow." Delana replied.

"Uh, yes, okay. Well, sleep well then… oh! There are a few of Natasha's old clothes she put in there for you, Chad and I'll go get some proper one's for you both tomorrow."

Delana arched an eyebrow at him. "How are you going to do that? It's not like the local Department Store's open at the moment, is it?"

Steve's eyes lightened and he chuckled slightly. "We know a place. Thor and Clint are staying with Chris and Ryan, but Chad and Natasha are coming. After today's events, I really don't want Arielle out in the open with us, but you're quite welcome to join us if you like. This place, we've only been there once, but once you go, you won't really need to go again. There's things like shoes, clothes, pens, Chad even found a brand new phone. I got Jarvis to upload some games onto it for him…" Steve trailed off when he noticed Arielle sway slightly on her feet.

"Well, then, uh… sleep well and we'll see you in the morning." Delana nodded her head once and nudged Arielle into the room, quickly following and closing the door behind her. Steve sighed lightly, and began walking back to the media room. He paused, hearing Delana's door open once again.

"Hey, Steve." Came the low murmur from the doorway.

He turned around quickly and spotted Delana fidgeting in the doorway. "I… uh… _we_ just want to say th… goodnight. Goodnight, Steve." The teen muttered before swiftly disappearing back into the room. He would take the sentiment as it was, and couldn't help the small smile from tugging at his lips as he stepped into the elevator.

"Well, I saved the best for last. It's one of my favourite parts of the tower, and everybody else seems to like it." Steve said, swinging open the door to reveal the quinjet landing pad.. Arielle gasped slightly and Delana smiled. She's always loved high places, could never get enough of them, in fact. Looking back at Steve for confirmation, Delana took her sister's hand and stepped out into the cool breeze the swept over the rooftop. Steve followed behind them at a respectful distance, scribbling something down in a used-looking leather-bound journal, his brow furrowed in concentration.

At first, Delana had been a little wary that he was writing some kind of report about them, and was in the middle of her plan to snatch the book away from his hands when she stopped herself. Steve had helped them escape the gang members, had given them food, and place to sleep and nothing but kindness, and had even mentioned – though very casually – that there was plenty of room if they wanted to stay a little longer. Delana had already talked to Arielle about this, and the redhead seemed to love the idea. Delana was still making up her mind.

Would this be the best option for them? Was there anywhere else they could go? If there was, they haven't found it yet. The only other place that would offer them three square meals a day and a place to sleep was the 'rehabilitation centres', as they so eloquently put it.

She shivered, remembering her time sitting in the drab classrooms, being told over and over again that she was a blemish on the face of society, that her powers would never do anyone any good, and the severe punishment that followed for anybody who dared try and use their newfound abilities.

She had only spent a few weeks there before learning to get a hold of her powers and getting herself out of that hellhole. She just wished that she could've taken everybody else with her. Nobody deserved that kind of brainwashing.

It was only by pure accident that she found Arielle. She had returned back to her old family home to find it ransacked and upturned, photos and dirt from the pot plants scattered all over the floor. Delana had gone back to her room to retrieve the small Swiss army knife that had always been hidden under her bed. That was when she heard the distraught sob from under the blankets of her bed, and discovered Arielle curled up under the covers. It was an emotional reunion, to say the least.

Eventually, the two girls sat down on the very edge and let their feet dangle freely as they leaned on the guardrail. Steve joined them, and for almost an hour, they all sat and admired the view. Or what was left of it anyway.

Steve sat and finished writing in his journal about everything that had happened since he last put pen to paper. He finished the entry with a detailed sketch of Delana standing in front of her sister, with Arielle poking her head slightly around to get a better view. He was pleased that he managed to capture the fire in the teenager's eyes and the sweet innocence in Arielle's.

The captain was just putting the final few touches on the drawing when Arielle leaned back a little, looking past Delana's back and at the journal Steve held in his hands. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to get a better view of what was on the paper.

With a light smile, Steve held it out for her to see, and grinned at her delighted gasp. She tugged on Delana's shirt, causing the older sibling to turn around, her eyebrows rising. Arielle pointed at the book Steve held in his hand, causing the soldier to duck is head in embarrassment. "I was wondering what you were cooking up in this little thing.." Delana mused, trailing off when she caught sight of the amazingly detailed sketch - _of her and Arielle_ – that covered about half the page. She briefly skimmed over some of the writing, confirming that it wasn't – in fact – a report on them both, before returning her attention to the drawing.

"Wow," She breathed, "I didn't know Captain America was an artist in his spare time."

Steve ducked his head, though he couldn't keep the smile off of his lips. "I'm not an artist, I just like to keep a personal record of everything that goes on nowadays, and the sketches help me remember smaller details."

Delana let her eyebrows rise. "Oh yeah, and what 'small details' did you capture in this little sketch, huh?"

Steve didn't skip a beat. "It's your eyes. I tried to draw them to show how fierce you looked, how you looked like you were ready to take me head off if that was what you had to do. I also tried to capture the curiosity in Arielle, if you look closely." Steve spoke, making sure to speak a little slower and mouth the words clearly. Delana studied the drawing and nodded, letting Arielle look for another minute or so before handing it back. Steve nodded his head in thanks and tucked the small book back into his jacket, before rising to his feet.

"C'mon ladies, we've spent the whole day avoiding everybody and looking around the tower, I believe it's time for a little bit of socialisation." Steve teased, holding out his arm to Delana, who shook her head vigorously. He shrugged and offered it to Arielle instead, who giggled and took it gladly. They both laughed as he lifted his arm and swung the smaller girl slightly, making Delana smile. Was this really the battle-hardened super soldier she had read about in the magazines? No, she realized with a smirk as he looked back at her for confirmation before lifting the smaller girl up onto his shoulders, no it wasn't.

"So…" Delana rolled her eyes at the younger teen's obvious attempts to start a conversation. He had said 'so…' about three times now, and it was getting annoying. Steve had stayed true to his promise of meeting up with everyone else and had shover her in a corner with Chad to 'get to know each other." So far, neither of them had talked much, and Delana has promptly sat down with her back against the door and glowered at the back of a certain super soldier's head.

Chad finally caught onto her gaze and rolled his eyes a little, though not as exaggerated as Delana had done. "Geez Delana, if looks could kill..."

The girl in question simply raised a delicate eyebrow in her direction, causing Chad to grin a little. God, he reminded her of one of the incessantly annoying computer geeks that had sat behind in Chemistry. She had mostly ignored them, but that doesn't mean that they didn't get on her nerves a little. Whenever she lost her temper and twisted around in her seat to tell them to shut up, they'd be sitting there grinning and looking for all the world like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

After another few minutes of the cold shoulder, Chad ran a hand through his short cropped hair and sighed a little. He didn't want to leave it like this, and wanted to at least say something that wouldn't make her look at him like he was a complete idiot. "Listen, I know you may be a little mad at Steve for sticking you in a corner and making you socialise with a kid, but he means well. I mean, he kinda saved us all from an inevitable fate of either dying or being taken in by Hunters."

"Or being sold on the slave market." Delana intervened dryly.

"Yeah, that too."

There was a moment of awkward silence, and despite his fear that Delana might not want to really talk too much, he pressed on.

"Take me for example." Chad began, peaking at Delana to check if she was listening. Her head was tilted slightly, but that was all. Chad took it as a good sign.

"I was being chased by a hunter, had been running for a good twenty minutes. I was exhausted, and couldn't use my powers, so I just _ran._ I ended up in an alleyway, and was hiding behind a garbage container. I was so exhausted, by that point, all I could do was try to breathe and hide as best as I could."

He saw the girl's head tilt slightly and her eyes flick over to him before she turned them back.

"And then, out of nowhere, there this loud bang, and then a thump, and then everything was quiet. And all of a sudden, Steve was there, babbling about how he took the hunter out, _but didn't actually kill him,_ and then offered me some food. I took it, and he began explaining what it was. So you know what I did?"

Delana summoned the interest to grunt in response to the question. "I freaked out, threw it all back in his face, and made like a hockey player and got the puck out of there."

The red-headed girl could barely hold back the snort of laughter that bubbled at her throat. She could imagine Steve sitting there, looking dazed and covered in some kind of Asgardian food. It was just too funny. Finally, she couldn't hold back her curiosity and tore her gaze away from the back of Steve head and over to Chad.

"So, how'd you end up here then?"

Chad gave a happy grin, and continued his story.

"I snuck into the tower via the 39th floor and made myself comfortable. _Somebody,"_ Chad accused, looking toward the roof, "ratted me out, and Steve found me out."

"Always a pleasure talking to you, Mr. Chad." Came the automatic response from Jarvis overhead, obviously having been listening into the conversation.

"So Steve gave me a meal and eventually a place to sleep. I've called it home ever since."

Delana remained silent, but her angered gaze softened towards Steve as she began to see him in a different light. This was a man who the media had portrayed as a selfless hero, a team leader and a total hard-ass (among many other things).

"Those two boys over there, Ryan and Chris, their parents were shot by hunters trying to protect them, Steve not only knocked the bastard that shot them out, he rescued the two boys and managed to escape the backup that was coming in fast. I like to think that Ryan and Chris see them as a wise old Grandpa, if not something close."

A quick glance over to where Chad was sitting told her all she needed to know about the teen's admiration for the man. It wasn't just admiration that this man had saved the world a million times over, no, it was admiration and a debt that could never be repaid, because Steve had saved their lives. And whether she knew it or not, it was something that Delana would never forget, because her prayers that she'd finally find a safe place for her and her sister to live in this world, had come true.

Except, instead of finding it herself, it found her, in the form of red, white and blue and a kind smile.

* * *

 **A/N: I truly hope you liked this chapter. As I said before, It might be a while before the next one is up, so please don't get your hopes up. But maybe a review or two will clear the cobwebs out of my head?**


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